Life Goes On
by BeachBunnyLuvsU
Summary: What if life was normal in Atlanta, Georgia? Rick Grimes didn't know which road his life would take him, nor he did he expect to be the only one. Soon the lives of his wife, son, and partner intersect with other colorful residents of Georgia. An AU, which explores a world where everyday struggles, joys, lives, and dangers can be just as intense as the end of the world.
1. Trailer

_**On the next episode of AMC's the Walking Dead…**_

_**Groans, snarls, and a series of hisses wavered all around as the undead slowly marched down the deserted streets of the city. **_

_**From afar, a shaking hand possessing a small hand gun readied their weapon for the kill. The finger squeezed harder on the trigger…. A single shot rang out. **_

_The screen to the television was clicked off, almost going black in an instant. Carl carelessly tossed the remote into his hamper filled to the rim with unwashed clothes._

"_Ready… set…. Go!" he shouted running full force towards his best friend of five years Duane Jones._

_He may have been worn out from the previous wrestling session after Duane had him in an unbreakable head lock, but he was not about to go down without a win. It wasn't his fault he was a few pounds too light or a few feet off compared to his friend._

"_Carl!" Rick screamed out to his son. _

_Carl was mostly playing defense; while he was trying to get some space he accidently tripped Duane., sending the latter toppling over the already messy bed. _

"_Yeah! Who the man? I'm the man." Carl flexed his frail arms. _

"_Carl!" Rick shouted once again, only becoming more agitated knowing he was being ignored._

"_You're gonna be a heap of meat once I get through with you Grimes." Duane rushed Carl, taking a firm grip on Carl's Science Dog t-shirt by the shoulder. _

"_CARL ALEXANDER GRIMES!" Rick yelled louder, making the playful pair jump. _

"_Uh oh! He said my full name!" shrieked Carl, leaping off the bed alongside Duane, racing down the stairs._

_**What if the walking dead…**_

_Shane's unresponsive body lay motionless on the well spaced out couch; only the unexpected twitches from his fingers and head showed a sign of life. _

_It then flashes to a groaning Glenn, slowly rising up from an uncomfortable night of sleeping in the bath tub._

_T-Dog lazily shuffles across the carpet, dragging his feet, mumbling._

_**Wasn't exactly… the walking dead.**_

_The exhausted cop's peaceful slumber was ruthlessly ripped away from him when he felt a splash of an ice cold beverage douse his face, presumably water. In response, he leaped up from the couch, blankets falling down to his hips. _

_Standing before him with an empty plastic cup was Lori, his partner's no nonsense wife. God, she was gonna get it next time. _

"_Morning Shane." She gave him a witty smile to help top off the morning. _

"_This how you treat your house guests?" he asked, shaking off a few water droplets, sending a spray of drops arc-ing everywhere._

"_Shane." Lori placed her free hand on her hip. "I don't care what Rick says. I want you gone before tomorrow."_

_Flashes to Rick and Lori arguing in the kitchen while Shane and Carl remain in the garage playing ping pong ball. _

"_Alright….no I mean alright don't have dinner with us again." Lori snapped, dipping the wooden spoon into the pot. _

_Flashes to Lori laughing with some friends at their house._

_Shows Shane in the gun range with Rick, Lam, and Leon shooting off practice rounds._

_**Life couldn't be anymore routine for the typical citizen of Atlanta, Georgia.**_

_Shows Rick restraining a man by his wrist, cuffs on him before he was provided another opportunity to resist the sheriff's deputy anymore than he already did._

_Shane along with Lam Kendal escorted the two other suspects toward the police cruiser. _

_Rick harshly read the criminal his rights. "You're under arrest for assault and robbery. You have the right to remain silent." _

_Flashes to Rick and Carl at the park together, both father and son caught up in their ball game. "Remember, watch the ball." Rick shouted across the field to Carl, preparing to toss the baseball to him._

XXX

"_Happy Valentine's Day Carl." Morgan Yelding kindly handed a neatly wrapped package of various candies to her crush, who wasn't shy enough to help himself._

"_Wow, thanks Morgan. I almost forgot to give you your gift." Carl handed her a small box, also well decorated for the girl's taste._

"_Cool! Thanks! What is it?" she happily asked._

_Just as Morgan proceeded to unwrap it, Carl, Duane, and a few other boys were giggling uncontrollably. _

"_Happy Valentine's Day, from me…" Carl stepped back a few good feet, ready to watch the events unfold._

_Poor little Morgan tore off the top expecting a sweet and genuine gift. Sadly she was met with beady eyes, fur, and a long tail. She tossed the box above her head and let out an ear piercing shriek. _

"…_and Ben!" Carl laughed. _

_Flashes to Carl and Duane in the hallways, leaning against the lockers laughing._

XXX

"_Court is adjourned." The judge slammed the gavel on the wooden block. _

_Andrea confidently packs her suit case as she stands before the judge. _

_A news crew stands before the court, awaiting the civil rights lawyer to make her appearance before them all. _

_The anchorwoman spoke into the small microphone. "Here I am standing before this court today, awaiting the arrival of Andrea Palmer, who has won yet another case." _

_Shows Andrea at the bar with a few friends, having a good time and ordering drinks. "Hey bartender! Next round's on me!" she yelled over the pumping music and people._

_Then flashes to Shane approaching them, a drink in his hand as well. "How are you ladies doin'?" he directs his flirtation only to Andrea which she returns with a mischievous smirk._

_It then flashes to Shane slamming her against the wall, both of them lost in a heated kiss._

…_**Or so they thought.**__. _

_Standing before Glenn, was Daryl eyeing him with such intensity wearing a sleeveless plaid shirt and an unfriendly demeanor._

"_Th' fuck you want?" Daryl rudely asked. _

_"Oh. Uh. Your pizza- that would be ten twenty." Poor Glenn replied at last, sliding the pizza out of its warmer and holding it up. _

_The redneck stared at him for a few more minutes before entering the house again, coming back with the exact amount and taking the pizza._

_"Wait- no tip? I drove all the way out on a scooter-"_

"_We don't tip ying yangs round' here." _

_And then the door was slammed in his face._

_Shows Daryl, cigarette hanging from his lips, shooting pool at a local bar with Merle who was knocking back a beer._

_Flashes to him holding the door open for Amy at her high school. "Thanks." she said politely. He somewhat nods his head at her._

_XXX_

"_Let me go! Im'a rip yo ass limb from limb once I get out!" T-Dog yelled, fighting to get out of his cuffs while he lunged at Merle and Daryl a second time, only for the attempt to remain futile thanks to Shane's unbelievable grip. _

_Red and blue lights danced in the crowd of random clubbers, unfortunate enough to witness the dispute between the two degenerate rednecks and the group of African-Americans._

"_Well bring it on nigger! I'll lose my foot in that big ass gap of yers!" Merle somewhat danced in the cuffs behind Rick taunting T-Dog and his friends, knowing well that he couldn't be touched._

"_Shut up Dixon." Rick growled in annoyance._

_Shows Merle, twelve pack in hand, ruthlessly knocking a candy display over in a convenient store which of course was owned by Asians. _

"_Girl you been trippin'. Give me one reason why I can't see L'Nya this weekend?" an annoyed T-Dog asked through the phone. _

_Shows him walking away from a daycare center with a little girl in his arms._

_XXX_

_Dale became stunned when he became constricted from the lack of oxygen flowing into his lungs. He managed to get a few breaths of air in before he got light headed. _

"_Hey, are you ok?" Amy asked, clutching her bag once she sensed the older man's urgency. _

_His response wasn't what she expected from him; Dale only ended up toppling over a shopping cart._

_Amy dropped her cheer bag and rushed to his aid at first instinct, pulling out her IPhone 4s. "Somebody call an ambulance!" she yelled to panicked shoppers. _

_Carol raced from behind the pharmacy counter, while Jacqui dropped her groceries, phone also in hand. "What just happened?" asked Carol._

"_I don't know! He just fell over!" she dialed on her cell. "He was clutching his chest…" _

"_Look out! I know CPR!" Carol ran to Dale's side._

_Jacqui waved off to the people surrounding Dale. "Back up ya'll! Give him some space!"_

_Flashes to Dale at the doctor's office, going over the basics of his unfortunate heart condition. _

_It then shows Amy, dressed up in her cheerleading uniform along with the rest of the squad, with her performing a scorpion at the top of the pyramid._

_It finally shows Carol cowering from Ed behind Nick in their house, holding her bruised face._

_Flashes to Jacqui, answering the phone at work._

_**But when their worlds collide…**_

_He attentively watched as she shyly peered from behind Mrs. Wallace, clutching both the straps of her pink book bag. She studied her peers as well as they did her, finding it hard to identify any potential friends. _

_Kenny leaned forward in his seat, whispering to where Carl only heard him. "Ugh! Just what we needed: another girl to funk up our class." _

_Carl hid his smirk behind his hand._

"_Class," Mrs. Wallace announced to the children. "We have a new student joining us today. This is Sophia Peletier. I want you all to make her feel welcome. Sophia, we're glad to have you with us." _

"_Not!" Duane fake coughed into his fist, earning a few snickers, mainly from the boys._

_She remembered to ignore them like her brother said and smiled, appreciating her new teacher's kind words. "Thanks Mrs. Wallace." _

_The older woman pointed toward the middle of the class. "Carl Grimes, raise your hand." She firmly ordered. _

_Carl lazily raised his hand. _

"_You may take your seat beside him." _

_Flashes to Kenny throwing paper balls at Sophia's head in class._

_Then flashes to the kids in the cafeteria. Sophia eyed Carl and Kenny at their table as she and Melanie sat with their group. "Forget them, their just a bunch of jerks. Especially Carl."_

_XXX_

"_FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" the combined number of voices mixed together in the crowd of teenagers, gathered around the two brawling boys in the middle of the hallway._

_Nick Peletier may have been far from the definition of perfect, but he was not about to let this rich little pretty boy disrespect him in any kind of way. Especially not on his first day._

_He delivered a powerful knee to Logan's face, drawing blood. Logan responded with a fist to the stomach as many times as he could. _

_Jimmy pulled Beth away from the pair, shoving her behind him. _

_JoJo was currently recording a video on her phone, laughing and pointing along with some other kids. "GO NEW GUY!" she cheered. She really hated Logan sometimes._

"_Blake, don't just stand here! Do something!" Amy ordered her close friend,_

_It flashes to the Principal Howard's office. Carol and Nick sat before the principal while Ed made the choice to stay outside. _

"_Mister Peletier, it's only your first day and you've already assaulted another student. Aren't you at all concerned with the consequences you'll face?" he asked._

_Nick snickered shaking his head. "Smh. Nope. And just so we're clear, I didn't start the fight." _

_Carol jumped into the argument, hoping to settle things. "Nick just let him talk to you…" she pleaded with her son._

"_I don't care who started the fight, I only care that it will never happen again." _

"_Well I can't promise you that. I'll just go ahead and take the detention." Nick stood up from his seat, throwing his book bag over his back._

"_Oh no, you're mistaken young man. Punishment for fighting is three days suspension."_

_Flashes to Nick popping a hydro in the school bathroom with a couple of friends._

_It shows him and Sophia seated on their front porch. "You're the best big brother ever!" Sophia wrapped her little arms around her brother's side._

_Flashes to him and his father Ed, staring one another down in the parking lot of a restraurant. Carol had a protective arm wrapped around Sophia. "Boy, don't kid yourself into thinking I won't crack yer fucking skull open just cause you my damn son."_

_"Go on...dad," Nick puffed a massive gleam of smoke into Ed's face. "I'm not afraid of you."_

_XXX_

_Just as Glenn prepared to close for the night, the soft beating on the glass window stopped him dead in his tracks. _

_He turned from behind the glass counter, catching the eyes of a young frightened girl. Her blonde ponytail bounced on her shoulders as she repeatedly whipped her head to the startling sounds of the night. _

_Glenn pulled open the door, allowing her access. "Are you ok?" he gently asked. _

"_No. Can I use your phone?" She placed her belongings in the seats besides her. He wasted no time offering up the phone for a girl in need. _

"_You gotta press nine to dial out." Glenn instructed her. "I-I'm sorry. What's your name?" _

"_Amy. Amy Palmer." She offered a sweet smile, properly thanking her savior of tonight. "And you?" _

"_Oh. Um… Glenn. Glenn Hyun." _

_Flashes to Amy, on the phone with her mother, near the brink of tears. "But it's Homecoming Week. How can she not be able to make it?" she sniffled wiping under her eye. "Andrea has not been to a single game or any of my cheer competitions this year."_

_Glenn is on his cellhpone, hoping he can talk his way into staying with yet another friend for the night. "Hey Chad, what's up man? Look, I think I've overwelcomed my stay with Jerome... so... can you... oh. No it's cool. I'll just find another place." he sighed in defeat, hanging up the phone._

_XXX_

_Rick and Lori set their differences aside for the time being to work together. Rick unloaded the heavier groceries into Dale's car trunk while Lori and Carl assisted with the lighter objects. _

"_Thank you." Dale said. "I couldn't have done this without you." _

"_No problem Mr. Horvath." Rick said. _

"_Oh please, call me Dale."_

_Flashes to Jacqui at home eating dinner with her daughter and grandson. "Brooklyn... I been hearing some things that I don't want to hear." _

_"What's that mama?" Brooklyn asked nervously. _

_"What's this about you working... as a dancer?" _

_**Everything changes.**_

_With the tour of the house complete, Glenn sat down with the realtor going over some last minute paperwork. At least he was sitting down._

_Just as he was about to sign, another realtor came through with another potential buyer. Someone he thought he'd never encounter again. _

"_You?" Glenn asked wide eyed. "You're the guy who slammed the door in my face and didn't tip me!"_

"_Hey, yer that chink that came to my house!" Daryl pointed to him, shocked as well. _

_Before the two could further exchange words, a new set of footsteps filled the awkward silence. Another realtor with yet another customer looking to buy. _

_Daryl's jaw practically dropped to the ground. _

"_SON OF A BITCH!" he yelled echoing through out the entire house._

"_AW HELL NO!" T-Dog screamed. _

_Flashes to the three of them seated at the kitchen table eating pizza courtesy of Glenn. T-Dog and Daryl continuously throw glares at each other._

_XXX_

_Ed held his sore and throbbing head, groaning in pain and frustration. He spit out a mouthful of blood while he warily lay out on the kitchen floor._

_Carol held Nick and Sophia behind her frail form, mustering up the courage she failed to find in the past years of being with Ed._

_Nick firmly held his bat, ready to defend his mother and sister. _

_Sophia held her sore cheek; it was already beginning to swell. _

_Carol grit her teeth in anger. "Don't… you… touch… her. Or me and Nick! Never again!"_

_Flashes to Carol standing on the Grimes' doorstep with her two children._

_It then shows her holding an ice pack to her bruised cheek, Lori seated across from her. "Lori... I need help."_

_XXX_

_Flashes to the middle school. It's Valentine's Day, a day mainly associated with loved ones presenting roses, candy, and cards of all sorts. Kenny and Duane have made a "special" type of Valentine's Day card for Sophia. _

_Kenny held it up for Duane, E.J., and Billy to see. Carl sat on the other side with his goodie bag. _

_"Hey guys, check it out. I got a card for Sophia." Kenny recited the hurtful poem he constructed. "Roses are red, violets are blue, you're the loser girl and no one likes you." the three of them laughed minus Carl. _

_For the first time since her arrival, Carl felt a string of guilt flow through his core, one he could not ignore. He'd seen Sophia around school; she was nice and everybody else liked her._

_He silently watched as E.J. walked over to the Sophia's desk and handed her the card. _

_It only crushed his little heart to see her facial expression change from happy to sad._

_XXX_

_Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog watched from the parking lot as Maggie walked from North Atlanta High's campus building to her car with Beth and Melanie. _

_She flashed a friendly grin to Glenn and waved before she hopped in her car and sped off the campus._

"_So what's up? You gonna ask her out?" T-Dog turned to Glenn. _

_The younger man shrugged. "I don't know… you think she'll say yes?"_

_Flashes to Glenn and Maggie seated in a Starbucks._

"_I was hoping we could catch a movie this Friday. If you're not busy…" Glenn was harshly cut off. _

"_I'm sorry, but I don't think so." Maggie whispered grasping her coffee._

_**This year…**_

_Daryl has removed his muscle shirt due to the unbearable heat, wiping the sweat dripping from his face. _

_Unbeknownst to him, he has attracted an audience. _

_Amy stood beside Lindsey, Beth, and Madison, all admiring the untouchable body equal to that of a god. _

"_Cute butt." Said Madison. _

"_Yeah." Beth dreamily responded. _

"_He's hot." Lindsey commented. _

"…_And older." Amy finished. _

_The teens were snapped out of their fantasies when a loud blow of a whistle startled them. _

_Coach Webber may have been a cheer coach, but she ran her girls like men._

"_Let's get a move on ladies!" She screamed. _

_**Watch the new experiences...**_

_Time heals all wounds. It also builds unbreakable friendships._

_Carol and Lori's aquintance has evolved into a friendship following the parent teacher conference night. They sat at the table in Lori and Rick's home, sipping on peach tea and swapping stories. _

_"No no seriously. What's the one thing you could not live without in this world?" Lori asked. _

_Carol ducked her head a bit out of embarassment. "If I say it, don't laugh."_

_Lori leaned in closer. "...My vibrator." Carol whispered. _

_Both women bursted out in audible laughter; their giggles were ceased when the door slammed. _

_Rick stood by wide eyed while Shane looked down at his work boots. _

_"Yeah... we came in at the wrong time didn't we?" asked Rick_

_XXX_

_Mrs. Jenkins, the dentention teacher, sat before today's newest group of degenerates: Nick Peletier, Blake Taylor, Jocelyn "JoJo" Gibson, Julie Gibson, Beth Greene, Mealanie Greene, Jimmy Burks, Michael "Monster" Douglas, and lastly Amy Palmer._

_She attentively watched the clock hanging on the wall. "I've got to go make a call. I trust none of you will move, correct?" she looked back and foth between each individual kid. _

_Moments later, it shows them under the bleachers of the school's gymnasium. Nick and Monster have been generous enough to allow each detention buddy a sample of some weed. _

_Beth took a small hit since she wasn't an experienced smoker. The world around her began to spin; even Jimmy looked like he was sprouting an extra head. _

_"Hey Beth." Monster called out to her. "How many fingers am I holding up?" he flipped her the bird._

_Beth squinted her blue eyes. "... Threeeeee."_

_Flashes to Nick, Amy, Blake, and Beth on a dark deserted road. They are all walking alongside each other; Blake was dressed in his football unifrom, Amy and Beth had on their cheerleading uniforms, and Nick just has his regualr clothes on. _

_"This is going to be a long night." Blake groaned, cursing at the pain flowing through his feet. _

_It shows them at school. Amy and Blake with their clique. Jimmy and Beth, together as always, and finally Nick and Monster with their group of misfits._

_**Comedy**_

_"Oh hell no! Ya'll come look at this table man. Come on now. Come on." T-Dog presented the latest piece of "artwork" to his two roomates Daryl and Glenn. Last night's dinner was still scattered across the living room coffee table, along with a couple of boxes from the Chinese place, and lastly a brown substance which stuck on the glass._

_"My daughter ain't even this nasty."_

_Daryl was in the kitchen, continuing to whip up his sandwhich while Glenn was surfing the internet on his laptop. _

_"Hey he's right. Hey Chnia man!" Daryl called out to Glenn. "Why don't you get off your ass, maybe clean some of this shit up." _

_The redneck's witty and sarcastic comment earned him a size eight Converse flying towards his head. Daryl was quick enough to duck the first one... but as he pulled himself from behind the dishwasher, he got clocked in the head with the second shoe._

_**Adventure**_

_Dale stood before the entire group of "survivors" holding a few red tickets. "We're going to Vegas!" he shouted, earning multiple cheers from them all, even Carl, Sophia, and Amy. _

_"What are you cheering about? You're staying here." Andrea said rather too harsh._

_Shows T-Dog and Daryl at the slot machines._

_Flashes to Lori and Rick on the beach, sipping on their drinks. "This is just what we needed." Rick said, leaning back in his chair_

_Shows Glenn banging on his hotel door. "Maggie? Maggie? Come on, I left my suitcase in there." he groaned._

_Andrea and Shane are laying under the covers of the hotel bed. "Can we not tell anyone about this?" Andrea asks._

_**Drama**_

_Shane could only stare, his eyes would've burned a hole into the white oblong object he never expected to see. It had two pink lines on it._

_He looked up at Andrea, searching for the answer in her eyes. "Wait a minute... you tellin' me you're..." he could not finish the sentence. _

_"Yes. I'm pregnant Shane." _

_Shows Daryl and T-Dog seated in a jail cell together, each man on the opposite bed. The door to the cell was slid open by an officer. The noticable sound of pumps on the hard floor signalled she was here. "Hello gentlemen, I'm Andrea Palmer, and I'll be representing you both."_

_**Suspense**_

_Maggie threw all her weight onto the door as best she could. Her small petite frame would only hold him off temporarily, and give her less time to keep the door shut than it would for Beth and Melanie to go get help. _

_Her cellphone rang in her lap. "Glenn!" she screamed again when she felt the door jump against her spine. "He's here!"_

_Shows Nick inside the school, standing by Blake, a gun pointed directly at the football player's chest._

_"Come on. You're better than this! They're not even worth it..." Nick tried to coerce the furious peer. _

_"No! No! They are worth it... you're worth it. You've become one of them. And now you have to die too." the kid said. He turned away and closed his eyes, before pulling the trigger._

_"NO!" Blake shouted. A single shot rang out._

_**And Romance**_

_"I've never felt this way before," Maggie whispers as it continues to rain on the two._

_"Me neither, but I'm glad I feel this way with you," Glenn whispers back before he passionately kisses her. She kisses him back and pulls him closer to her._

_Daryl breaks the kiss, pulling away before he could get any more carried away. "I can't do this. It ain't right. You're just a kid." he shakes his head._

_Amy gently places her fingers on his cheek. "It's ok... I want you to."_


	2. Characters

**Life Goes On: The Walking Dead**

**Rick Grimes**: Husband of Lori Grimes and father of Carl Grimes. Rick is an every-man- smart, tolerant, opinoinated, calm, friendly, and caring almost to a fault. Having been transferred from his small hometown of King County to the wide and open city of Atlanta due to his job as a sheriff's deputy, Rick has tired to build more of a relationship with his family and spend more time with them. But things don't always go as they planned since luck never seems to be on his side. No matter the circumstance, Rick always stands by his morals and beliefs, whether or not everyone agrees with him or not.

**Lori Grimes**: Wife of Rick Grimes and mother of Carl Grimes. Armed with a fiery temper as strong as her will to fight for her family and friends, this no nonsense woman is not afraid to set her mind to anything or speak her mind on what's right or wrong. Ambitious, protective, a loving yet firm mother, stubborn, caring, and loyal she is not your ordinary house wife and mother. She mainly acts as the voice of reason for people who need advice. A small town girl, she has managed to adjust to the quickened pace of the city, but still finds it difficult to keep the drama lingering in the family and their friends at bay. All she wants is for them all to be close.

**Carl Grimes**: Son of Rick and Lori Grimes. Child to a sheriff's deputy, Carl has always been brought up with morals, respect, and discipline. Naïve, adventurous, smart, kind hearted, goofy, and caring, he can be mischievous at times which often leads him into trouble. Although clueless at times, Carl will not hesitate to stand up to adults by using his intelligence and exploiting his status as an "innocent" minor to outsmart and outmaneuver them. He's not a bad kid; he just wants to have fun. After bullying and harassing the "new girl" Sophia Peletier for a period of time, he becomes her best friend.

**Shane Walsh**: Son of Mason and Melinda Walsh. Brother of Kelly James. Best friend of Rick Grimes and Lori Grimes. Although he wears the label of a well decorated officer, his actions speak opposite of that. A prankster, former football player, and all around ladies man, everything used to be easy for him in the past until he reached adulthood. He is charming, stubborn, competitive, loyal, and a fighter. After he moved to Atlanta with Rick and his family due to his job, Shane finally seems to be pulling out of his old ways... hopefully. As he continues womanizing, he begins to feel lonely since he never married nor is close to his family which explains why he intrudes on Rick's, which tends to annoy Lori.

**Carol Peletier**: Wife of Ed Peletier and mother of Nick and Sophia Peletier. Carol is a sweet, doting, and soft-spoken woman, though often meek and defenseless whenever facing Ed. She often struggles to find her voice, fearful of what people might think. As a mother, she tries to shield Sophia away from the dangers of the world while pull tries pulling Nick away from his bad habits, often leading to spats with her son. Though queit and paranoid, Carol possess a fun and somewhat mischevious side that only comes out when people least expect it. A side that even surprises Nick and Sophia.

**Ed Peletier**: Husband of Carol Peletier and father of Nick and Sophia Peletier. Ed is far from the loving husband and father most families have; instead, he is lazy, neglectful, rude, greedy, negligent, a heavy drinker, and violent. He is physically abusive towards his wife and son, but harbors sick thoughts towards his daughter. At times, he acts almost careless concerning the welfare of his children, but he wasn't always a terrible man. Before he began drinking, Ed loved his wife and children and was a great family man until an unthinkable incident led to what he has become today.

**Nick Peletier**: Son of Ed and Carol Peletier. Brother of Sophia Peletier. Having been exposed to the gritty world around him at such a young age, Nick is a tear away teenager with a history of drug abuse and rebellious behavior. Armed with a good heart, he is fiercely protective of his loved ones, although he fails to realize his own problems or help himself. He is street smart, a hothead, rebellious, kind hearted, and independent. A misfit at school, he is loved and hated by his peers and teachers of North Atlanta High, but he doesn't care what people think of him. He becomes close friends with Amy and JoJo.

**Sophia Peletier**: Daughter of Ed and Carol Peletier. Sister of Nick Peletier. Unlike her older brother, Sophia possesses a naïve and innocent demeanor; still very much like a child. Originally shy and unsure about herself around others, she's actually very energetic, adventerous, polite, sneaky, friendly, and helpful to everyone she gets to know, but if you push this kid too far, she just might snap back harder than you think. Due to her disastrous home life, Sophia is very untrusting of adults, and greatly fears men which explains why she clings to Nick, her brother, hero, and best friend. Becomes close friends with Carl.

**Andrea Palmer**: Daughter of Michael and Claire Palmer. Sister of Amy Palmer. Andrea is intelligent, tough, cautious, sociable, protective, and fiercely competitive. A civil rights attorney, she's very good with words and uses this to voice her opinions. Though very driven and serious about work she also has a sexy alter ego. She's a party animal, among her friends, but not as much as to do something you'll regret… sometimes. If she's not backing it up on the dance floor, then she's either working or spending time with her family or friends. She struggles to get closer to Amy and repair their relationship due to her not being apart of Amy's life in the past; they are twelve years apart.

**Amy Palmer**: Daugher of Michael and Claire Palmer. Sister of Andrea Palmer. Amy has everything to live for: popular, successful family, nice house and cars, a spot on the cheerleading team, her beloved Pomeranian pup Zsa Zsa, and living like a princess. She can be dramatic, reckless, sweet, stylish, caring, and act like a spoiled brat, but some of it's a plea for attention since she doesn't feel understood by her family and friends. Everyone thinks of her as a "queen bee" and they want to be her or are jealous, but Amy knows there is more than meets the eye. Becomes close friends with Glenn and Nick.

**Dale Hovarth**: Parents Harold and Beverly Horvath are deceased. Having lost his wife to cancer, Dale grew depressed and lost all hope for life, finding it hard to cope. Eventually, he learned to move on following a heart attack which he survived and he is now full of life and hope. Dale is wise beyond his years, friendly, feisty when needed, profound, perceptive, resourceful and not afraid to speak his mind. As an elder gentleman, he tries to give good advice to younger people so they can learn from his past mistakes and experiences. Having never had children of his own, he develops somewhat of a father/daughter relationship with Andrea and Amy.

**Glenn Hyun**: Son of George and Nicole Hyun. Brother of Emily and Kylie Hyun. Glenn grew up as a black sheep in his family, no aspirations or goals whatsoever to gain a successful career like them, which caused a wedge between his father and him and eventually lead to his estrangement from him. He only wants to do good with himself, but he gets caught in a loop with debt and difficult decisions; he once stole and sold vehicles to support himself. Glenn is open, awkward, resourceful, enthusiastic, and adorable - the ultimate "nice guy" who has been known to finish last. A pizza boy, he wishes to make more of himself and tries to speak his mind. He develops a romantic yet complicated relationship with Maggie.

**Theodore "T-Dog" Douglas**: Son of Derrick Malone and Tabitha Douglas. Father of L'Nya Andrews. Fresh out of a break up with his fiance, T-Dog is only trying to get back on his feet and do right for himself and his daughter, L'Nya. Much too quick to use his fist in a situation, he hardly ever uses his brain. T-Dog is laid back, kind hearted, clumsy, respectful, outgoing, and impetuous. Though he frequently goes clubbing, he has proven to be an attentive and loving father to his daughter since he wants to make up for being a bad fiance to his ex, Caitlyn. Although he is surrounded by friends, he often feels as though he can't trust anyone and tries to shield himself away.

**Daryl Dixon**: The half brother to Merle Dixon. Both parents, Walter Dixon and Rose Ferrell are deceased. Growing up with a neglectful father and absentee brother lead him to gain independence at a young age and taught him how to care for himself. A lone wolf, he's not used to having many people around him other than those associated with Merle, which leads to trouble. He has a heavily guarded heart due to the fear of getting close to people. Daryl is a stereotypical redneck with a hothead and some mean hunting skills. He's intelligent, tough, self-reliant, surly, sarcastic, kind hearted, and quick to resort to violence.

**Merle Dixon**: Half brother of Daryl Dixon. Father Walter Dixon is deceased; mother Leslie Gregory is alive. Merle is malicious, promiscuous, discriminating, hard headed, brash, and troublesome. Unlike Daryl, he is far from accepting when it comes to minorities and is far more of a racist and neo-Nazi. He often tries to push his beliefs onto his brother, although Daryl doesn't share those tendencies too. Frequently imprisoned or in trouble, he is hardly ever seen around and if so, he's likely wreaking havoc. Merle pushes his brother to toughen up and be a man, yet he has failed to better himself or tried to fix his attitude and opinion of the people surrounding himself. However, Merle does have a softer side he wants no one to see.

**Jacqui Miller**: Mother of Brooklyn Miller and Grandmother of Nathan Miller. She is a very spiritual and modest woman, brought up with strong morals and beliefs in which she never seems to abandon. Having lived a past life involving crime and drugs, Jacqui has turned over to a positive and much more promising outlook on life. She is generous, tough, spiritual, modest, attentive, and motherly to youngsters. Just because she speaks and does good, doesn't mean she can't back up what she says; she can be a dnagerous woman when needed.

**Morgan Jones**: Husband of Jenny Jones. Father of Kyndall and Duane Jones. A resident of Atlanta all his life, Morgan knows the city in and out like the palm of his hand. This is how he helped guide Rick, Lori, and Shane through the difficulties of city life. Morgan is artistic, well mannered, friendly, fun loving, protective, and generous. Morgan is an average family man trying to keep his cool as he tries to survive his families' antics and drama. He is a very loving and stern father to his sons ans and attentive husband to his wife, despite her nagging.

**Jenny Jones**: Wife of Morgan Jones. Mother of Kyndall and Duane Jones. Just because she's a woman doesn't mean she's all nice and sweet. Jenny's as tough as nails and as mean as a bull when you cross her. That is exactly why her two boys are constantly in check for their behavior. Stubborn, fierce, outspoken, kind, friendly, and no nonsense, she may come off as controlling and bossy at times, but only wants Kyndall and Duane to make good decisions. She can be a bit pushy when it comes to her and Morgan's differences, but she loves him deeply.

**Kyndall Jones**: Son of Morgan and Jenny Jones. Brother of Duane Jones. A star athelte on the football team, Kyndall doesn't seem to care about his grades or any form of academics or responsibilities and only has his thoughts on going pro. He is talented, popular, clueless, childish, and initiative. Since he doesn't excel academically, he feels the only way he'll make something out of himself is with football. However, Kyndall has far more potential and talent than he thinks he does. He is an amazing son and brother, although he uses the big brother card to torment Duane at some points. He is in a relationship with JoJo.

**Duane Jones** : Son of Morgan and Jenny Jones. Brother of Kyndall Jones. Although he was raised in a household with discipline, Duane acts no different than any other child. He tends to let his curious and careless side get the better of him and his better judgement. Duane is smart, goofy, mischevious, polite, protective, sly, imaginative, and eager. As he tries to step out as his own individual, he still looks up to his big brother Kyndall cause he wishes to make something useful out of himself in the future. At times, he thinks he's tough and can take on the world, until he realize he's only a child.

**Tyrese Gibson**: Father of Julie and Jocelyn "JoJo" Gibson. A loving and gentle father one minute and a tough opponent the next, Tyrese is a bug teddy bear to some while a horrible nightmare to others. Strong, charismatic, loyal, protective, hard working, helpful, and kind Tyrese was put in the unfortanute situation of being a single parent with two daughters after his wife passed away. Sadly, things don't always go as planned when trying to bring Julie and JoJo together. However, he hasn't let the negative aspects bring him down and he always stays in good spirits. And he'll always put others before himself, even if not needed.

**Julie Gibson**: Daughter of Tyrese and the late Kiesha Gibson. Sister of JoJo Gibson. Like her mother, Julie is a girl with the drive and motivation which may likely take her places in life. She's a girl with a mean streak who believes she is way above others and wishes for them to go by her rules. Julie is intelligent, shallow, self-centered, ruthless, arrogant, domineering, and manipulative. Julie practically isolates herself from her sister, for which she is mainly on a quest for popularity at North Atlanta High. Though she always displays her mean girl persona, she barricades her highly insecure nature and fear of being alone underneath. She's currently dating Chris.

**Jocelyn "JoJo" Gibson**: Daughter of Tyrese and the late Kiesha Gibson. Sister of Julie Gibson. Hates being called by her real name Jocelyn, and only goes by JoJo. She is a young girl with a pretty face and innocent-looking demeanor, but she has a wild side. She is fun loving, outspoken, sly, openminded, loyal, tough, and bold. A volleyball player at her school, she's not willing to back down from anything or anyone despite the consequences. She hates drama and frequently clashes with her sister and her boyfriend. JoJo has also been known to be a big flirt, having dated a number of boys before, normally ending with them trying to use her. She eventually dates Kyndall.

**Chris Dutton**: Son of Freddrick and Felicia Dutton. Coming from a wealthy family, Chris has always had high expectations from everybody around him. And while he's trying to prove his worth to everyone, he sometimes loses himself in the fray. Sarcastic, friendly, bright, meek, gentle, and sometimes brave, it is hard for Chris to just be himself with all the pressure of being somebody important put on him constantly. As he strives for confidence, he also tries to get closer to Julie in their relationship since he truly loves her and wants what they have to be real. As he begins to tire of his lifestyle, he begins growing into his own person. He's in a on and off relationship with Julie.

**Herschel Greene**: Father of Maggie, Arnold, Lacey, Shawn, Maggie, Billy, Beth, and Melanie Greene. Husband of the late Josephine Greene. Leaving home early and gaining independence is what led him to leaving home in his teens. Unlike his daughters Maggie, Beth, and Melanie he and his remaining children reside at the family farm on the outskirts of the city. Herschel is a descent man with strong morals and a good heart. He is wise, kind hearted, attentive, stubborn, fiercely protective of his family and friends, and bold. Herschel has a love for animals since he is a vet which explains his gentle nature. He can be a loving yet stern father.

**Maggie Greene**: Daughter of Herschel and the late Josephine Greene. Sister of Arnold, Lacey, Shawn, Billy, Beth and Melanie Greene. The fourth child born, she is a tomboy who wears boots, jeans and t-shirts, rides a horse, and hunts. Maggie is stubborn, very protective of her loved ones, free spirited, bold, initiative, and is daring. She can be a wild child when she wants, living life to the fullest while at the same time she's stern and overprotective when it comes to her younger sisters Beth and Melanie. But don't be fooled by this little lady; she's a heart breaker and a vixen as well. She begins a complicated yet romantic relationship with Glenn.

**Beth Greene**: Daughter of Herschel and the late Josephine Greene. Sister of Arnold, Lacey, Shawn, Maggie, Billy, and Melanie Greene. Second to youngest of the Greene clan, Beth is the polar opposite of her fraternal twin sister Melanie. She is bubbly, quirky, naive, feisty when angered, sweet and an all around good girl. If not paired with her twin, she'll be seen with Jimmy. Due to her gentle nature, everybody knows her as somebody's sister, daughter, or girlfriend and she hates it. She wishes to become an individual and be more than just the "good girl".

**Melanie Greene**: Daughter of Herschel and the late Josephine Greene. Sister of Arnold, Lacey, Shawn, Maggie, Billy, and Beth Greene. The youngest of the Greene family, Melanie is the polar opposite of her fraternal twin sister Beth. She is bright, sarcastic, manipulative, troublesome, fun loving, and a rebel. If not paired with her twin, she'll be seen with Nick. People say a lot of things about her, especially the adults, and most of it is not so good. Sometimes, she wishes to break away from her bad habits, but she continues to fall back into them. Her acting out originated from the death of her mother.

**James "Jimmy" Burks**: Son of Mitch and Bonnie Burks. Boyfriend of Beth Greene. A good kid upon meeting him, don't let this youngster fool you. A former "bad boy" and "player", Jimmy is now trying to make amends with everything he has done wrong in the past. Now a sweetheart, athlete, and gentleman that is all thanks to Beth Greene, Jimmy now plays by the rules... sometimes and makes better decisions. He is a class clown, outgoing, sweet, athletic, wild, and daring. He is a good boyfriend to Beth, almost giving in to everything she asks for and spoiling her at some points.

Author's Note: Wooh! That's the first thing I'd like to say. Secondly, I'd like to thank Riley Jameson Diamond and LeanneDaseyLover for reviewing. Who knows? I might start a bit early on this story than before. It sounds fun now.


	3. It's All Part Of The Routine

Rick's piercing blue eyes shot open at the undying blare of his alarm clock early in the morning. He didn't even have to glance over in the direction of the noise to slam his fist on the snooze button. As he kicked the sheets off his warm skin, his glance fell on the opposite side of the bed, which remained vacant.

Shaking his head in annoyance, he lazily scooted across the carpet until he reached the bathroom en suite. "It's all part of the routine." He mumbled to himself as he turned the knob to the shower on.

Shane's unresponsive body lay motionless on the well spaced out couch; only the unexpected twitches from his fingers and head showed a sign of life. The deep gut wrenching snores noisily escaped from his sleeping form as he shifted repeatedly in his sleep.

The exhausted cop's peaceful slumber was ruthlessly ripped away from him when he felt a splash of an ice cold beverage douse his face, presumably water. In response, he leaped up from the couch, blankets falling down to his hips.

Standing before him with an empty plastic cup was Lori, his partner's no nonsense wife. God, she was gonna get it next time.

"Morning Shane." She gave him a witty smile to help top off the morning.

"This how you treat your house guests?" he asked, shaking off a few water droplets, sending a spray of drops arc-ing everywhere.

"Shane." Lori placed her free hand on her hip. "I don't care what Rick says. I want you gone before tomorrow."

"Oh come on Lori. How about you be generous and add an extra day? And another… maybe another." He kicked of the blankets, arising from the couch.

"I did… again and again _and_ again. You still haven't left. Isn't home calling?" Lori sarcastically retorted, going into the kitchen to get her daily morning coffee.

Shane placed a hand before his ear, as if he were listening for something. "Let me think. Hmmmm….. Nah. And I sure ain't taking no messages."

"And please get dressed. I have an eleven-year-old child in this house."

The family dog, Caesar a massive male Rottweiler, got his proper morning greeting from Shane. A good scratch on the ear. "It ain't nothing boy. She's just saying that cause she likes what she sees."

"Oh, pssh. Shane, please don't make me sick," Lori shot grabbing a coffee cup from the cabinet, "Under no circumstance would I even consider being with you. End of the world or not." She sighed to herself, scooping in the coffee grinds. "It's all a part of the routine."

Shane rubbed his large hands on his head, taking the short trip to the stairs. The mornings in the Grimes' household only became shorter and much more enjoyable for himself. Not so much as for Rick and Lori.

"It's all a part of the routine." He mumbled to himself as he trekked up the stairs.

_Work it harder make it better,  
do it faster makes us stronger  
_

X

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X

_N-now th-th-that that don't kill me  
Can only make me stronger_

Honk! Honk! Honk! The multiple car horns from the front of the house shot from the garage, through the kitchen, and finally into the bedrooms which remained connected to the bathrooms.

Glenn jerked his head much too fast, only to bang it against the tough bath tub. He slowly rose his sore body up from an uncomfortable night of using his friend's bath tub as a substitute for a bed. He placed a gentle hand on his throbbing head, groaning loudly. He climbed out of the tub despite the pain filling his body.

X

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X

_I need you to hurry up now  
'Cause I can't wait much longer_

Daryl pulled with all his might, dragging Merle's hulking unconscious body from his bedroom to the bathroom, littered with multiple beer cans and even a lone bra hanging on the side of the bath tub.

He knew the moment he splashed Merle awake from another drug induced night of partying, he'd have to run like burning hell or else his confused and delirious elder brother would pound on him to a bloody pulp. Once he filled the plastic cup before removing a toothbrush, full of water, he splashed it on Merle. Right as the elder Dixon brother was revived, Daryl leaped over him to prepare for work.

X

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_I know I got to be right now  
'Cause I can't get much wronger_

Sophia scooped a large quantity of jelly onto her toast along with some butter. In an almost practiced grace, she slid the half gallon milk jug across the table, only for Nick to retrieve it flawlessly, as he doused his Lucky Charms.

A loud scream, followed by a thump quickly stole the siblings' attention from their breakfast to the source of the scream. A fearful Sophia looked back at her brother with a questioning look to which he responded with the usual answer. She quickly scooped up her book bag and rushed to the garage, where her usual hiding spot was.

Nick prepared himself for the worst. He ignored the fact that his heart was rapidly beating against his chest and rushed up the stairs.

X

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X

_Man I been waitin' all night now  
That's how long I've been on ya_

T-Dog jogged down into the kitchen, where his grandmother fed his thirteen month old daughter. Just as he had finished ironing his shirt, he slid the thin fabric over his muscular body.

In the back bedroom, Malik, shoved through piles of dirty clothes to get to his respective work uniform of the day.

X

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X

_Work it harder make it better,  
do it faster makes us stronger_

Andrea shuffled quickly through her organized papers a third time to assure everything was intact. Once everything was confirmed to be in place for the third time, she snapped her briefcase shut, clicking both the gold locks.

This case was at its best level of difficulty, making it into a challenge. She helped herself to the already lukewarm pot of coffee seated on the burner, slid on her best heels, and was out the door when her cell began to ring. The caller id flashed Amy, just like it did last night.

X

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X

_I need ya right now  
Let's get lost tonight_

Amy tossed her phone on her bed in defeat and returned to the bathroom to check herself over in the mirror once again as she brushed the glittery face powder over. She then placed in her ear rings, did her mascara, and added the final touches of well needed lip gloss.

X

X

X

_You could be my black Kate Moss tonight_  
_Play secretary, I'm the boss tonight_

Dale solemly pushed the covers off his body, tossing them off to the side. After excercising on the elliptical, and going through his morning shower he was dressed up and ready for his day; a day in which he was not looking forward to like the others. He gently grabbed a silver frame off his nightstand, and eyed it with a saddened expression.

X

X

X

_Play secretary, I'm the boss tonight._  
_And you don't give a f*** what they all say, right?_

Beth and Melanie scrambled to get to the bathroom, both girls pushing one another in a short race from the bedroom to their intended destinatioon. Beth pushed Melanie into a wall and got the lead in the race, only to be tripped by her younger sister.

Unfortanutely, neither of the fraternal twins seized the opportunity of who had victory over winning the bathroom. Maggie simply walked into it and slammed the door shut before her teenage siblings, only for the bickering pair to bang and paw at the door.

X

X

X

_Awesome, the Christian in Christian Dior_  
_Damn they don't make 'em like this anymore_

JoJo gathered all her supplies, preparing herself for the long day she had ahead of her at school. Purse, books, lip gloss, mascara, cell phone, lunch money. All of it until she had everything she needed. She planted a soft kiss on her father, Tyrese's cheek before taking off out the door. Waiting in the driveway parked was Kyndall, impatiently awaiting for his carpool to arrive.

He threw up a questioning hand as to why Julie, JoJo's elder sister was not with her. Why? The elder Gibson daughter was still looking herself over in her full body mirror, a complete narcissist who couldn't get enough of herself. She continued to admire herself despite the blare of Kyndall's car horn or her sister's screaming.

X

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_I need you right now! Right now!_

_X_

_X_

_X_

Shane titled his head to allow the warm flow of coffee to run down his throat and seep into his body to get the jump he needed to help him see through his day. On the opposite side of the booth, Rick gulped down his orange juice before returning to attacking his pancakes.

"You know now. This don't make any sense." Shane picked up his fork.

"What does? The fact that these are the best damn blueberry pancakes I had in my life?" Rick smirked.

"No. This police business got us out of Kentucky, smack dab in the middle of Atlanta, Georgia, surrounded by all these beautiful and gorgeous women. And I'm tellin you man, I still can't find a woman who know how to work the damn light switch." Shane grumbled shoving a forkful of waffle into his mouth.

Shane's witty comment earned a laugh from his closest friend and partner of many years. Rick snickered to himself as he doused a good quantity of syrup on his pancakes, leaning back in his seat. Safe to say this was his comfort zone away from home.

"Of all the qualities offered up in a woman, from her head to her toes, it don't even matter. All you care about is that godamned light switch." Rick snickered, shaking his head at his close friend since high school.

"Hell yeah brother! I want me a lady not just with a smokin' hot bod, but with a good hint of independecne on the side. At the least."

"Hey. It ain't always cracked up to be."

"Really?" Shane wiped his hands on a napkin. "You know, me and Carl heard you and Lori goin' at it; like two rapid dogs last night."

Rick wordlessly threw down his napkin onto his plate containing the half eaten food. His blank expression seeped into Shane for a moment.

"Hollerin' all kinds of shit to each other. Had Carl almost in tears. You even had me bout to start ballin."

A chill ran down Rick's spine. He knew he and Lori had been having problems lately, but he didn't want to have Carl or Shane get caught in the crossfire of the whole situation. And to make matters worse, the only person who would suffer the most was their child. "It's just... it... It's complicated. Wish I could snap my fingers and make it all better but we got things to work on the long way."

"Hmmm." Shane nodded his head. He folded his now clean hands.

"It's like I don't even know her anymore. Always in my face, asking me if I care. About her or about Carl. My own family. Can you believe she asked if I even _want _them in my life anymore. That is my family. However in the world could I stop loving them?"

"Look, whatever hits ya'll I'm sure you can work it out."

Rick ran a frim hand over his hair, gaze falling down to the table. "I sure hope so; I don't know how much more I can take. What you think?"

Before Shane could respond to his partner, a staticy voice noisily poured out of his police radio making both men jump up. Shane pulled the device out of his pocket. "211. 211 in progress. Shots fired. All units needed." a female voice repeated over the radio, only for it to click off.

"Well, I think we got ourselves some action ahead of us." Shane pulled out a ten dollar bill. "That's one thing I love bout' the city."

"Tell me about it." Rick commented, sliding his other half of the money on the table. Both police officers marched out of the Waffle House with many eyes on them.

X

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X

As like any school on a normal yet overly busy morning, this one's parking lot was packed with cars belonging to parents and the teaching staff combined. Parents quickly fought to swing their vehicle into the school parking lot to drop their child off before commuting to work. Lori trailed closely behind the minivan before her, looping into the parking lot along with it as she pulled up at the entrance of the school.

Carl wordlessly watched as multiple children, including a good quantity of his classmates, be released from the security of their parents to the complicated social maze of the school. It was only elementary school, but there was already so much buzzing within its walls.

"Don't forget to come straight out here after school so your daddy and Shane can pick you and Duane up. We're going to meet your grandparents for dinner." Lori dug deep in her purse for her cell phone, having turned away from her son.

Carl still looked away from her. He could only look on as Duane exited his father's vehicle. The African-American boy continued to walk towards the school until his father, Morgan, rushed up to him handing him his almost forgotten lunch money. He then watched as father and son shared a warm and loving embrace.

"Oh, and don't forget what we talked about." Lori placed a firm finger under Carl's chin, turning him to where he was now facing her. "If I hear a word about you being in the office, or even see the school's number flash on the caller id at work, I will be up here in a hot second to tap your little bottom. Do you understand me, Carl Alexander Grimes?"

Carl's deep blue orbs trailed away from hers. "Yes ma'am." he half nodded, still facing away. "Mom?"

"Yeah baby?"

"Should I be worried about you and dad?"

Lori was taken back by Carl's question. Both her and Rick had been experiencing some serious tension not just lately, but it'd been a while. Obviously, long enough to give Carl time to catch on. "No. Why would you ask me that Carl?"

"Shane and I heard you and dad yelling again. And you slept in the guest bedroom last night."

Damn. How would she explain this one? Looking out of the corner of her eye, she nervously chewed her lip until a good thought crossed her mind. "I got it bad with them bed bugs baby. It ain't nothing to it." Lori offered a half hearted smile to convince her son what she wanted him to think. But no, Carl was getting older meaning he was now more observant.

"Isn't that what you say almost everytime." Carl pulled the handle to the car door, releasing himself from the vehicle. He somewhat slammed the door a bit too hard, causing Lori to flinch a bit. She could only watch as he joined up with Duane, bumping fists together.

Carol Peleteir fought to divide her attention between focusing on enrolling her youngest child in school while adjusting her prescription glasses over her now blackend eye as it had formed on their small journey to the school. It took almost five minutes of her time to conceal the evidence of Ed's abuse.

_"Great. I'll have to go through another round of cover up." _Carol thought to herself as she gingerly touched under her eye, hissing to herself as the pain inflamed. "I have a really good feeling about this school. Ed and I felt it would do the kids some good to transition from private to public school."

The elementary school principal, Mrs. Shannon, guided them through the halls. "And I have an equally good feeling as well. With an impressve transcript like this, we expect that Sophia's light here at Smith Elementary will shine indeed." she smiled to the young girl.

"Thank you Mrs. Shannon." Sophia lightly gripped her schedule with one hand.

Nick watched as his sister nervously fiddled with the thin paper. Sophia was a new fifth grader, scared to death about ready to jump out of her skin to finally be apart of the public school world. She stood dead in the center of the hall, brushing one of her feet in circles around her other stationary one, like a dancer. "Hey." he called out to her. "Whatever you do, don't be nervous. It only takes seconds for them to sniff out a new kid."

Sophia felt a small sense of relief wash over her. "Easy for you to say. Are you nervous?"

"Naw." Nick carelessly shook his head. "If anyone even looks at me funny, I'll knock their teeth out. You should too." Mrs. Shannon looked rather disgusted, showing a look to which Carol caught onto.

"Nick! Excuse my son." Carol held her arms to her hips. "And I hope that won't happen at all today young man. Or any other day. Am I right?"

Nick bit his lip to hide his mischevious smirk, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Yes ma'am."

Despite the serious matter of the conversation between mother and son, Sophia couldn't help but laugh at the good yet short moments she managed to enjoy with her mother and brother. The blonde then shared an enveloping hug with both Nick and Carol before joining the principal.

"Bye sweetheart." Carol sniffed a bit wiping under her eye. "Have a good day."

"Mom," Nick elbowed Carol gently in the ribs. "It's her first day of school. She's not graduating. Quit crying."

"Well I don't care. My babies are growing up."

Sophia turned back the last time at the two of them; it would be approximately eight hours before she could even look at them both. She jogged up the short flight of stairs alongside her new principal, heading into a new reign of territory.

X

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X

Ringgggg! The bell to North Atlanta High School chimed through out the entire building, signalling the end of breakfast. Beth Greene barely dodged an evaluated senior football player, having nearly come to a collison with the boy. She'd have done so had her fraternal twin sister Melanie not yanked her back in time.

"Beth, I guarantee you one tardy will not mar your spit shined stauts as good student. Can you say nerd?" Melanie barked with laughter, swinging her purse over her shoulder.

"Just because I refuse to be dragged down into your bad girl depths I'm a nerd?" Beth ran her free fingers through her soft blonde hair. "Maybe you should try it. Stop getting in trouble."

"Hmmm. No. That's asking for me to make a change, which I'm not very good at."

"And you think it's ok to ask me the same thi-" The air left Beth's lungs when she did indeed collide with a student, dropping her binder in the process. She nor Melanie did not have enough time to retrieve the fallen binder when a set of hands scooped it up. Her heart pounded rapidly in its place; it was Jimmy Burks who had picked her binder up. Sophmore and heart throb Jimmy Burks who played defense on the football team.

She mentally screamed at herself._ "Oh my God. Breathe Beth breathe." _

"Here. Might wanna be careful next time." he handed back her binder. "Geometry can wait."

"Thanks Jimmy." she replied back, dreamily.

For the first time, Melanie Greene found herself panicked that her sister had caught the bad boy bug that seemed to run in the women in their family. Beth had been watching Jimmy with the same look she was giving him now, which only confirmed her crush to the football player himself. This was benefical for him.

He stepped away towards the stairs where of course his possy awaited him. Jimmy gave off his best smile. "Anytime Beth. Anytime." Both Greene siblings watched with opposing looks as the football player slapped hands with each teamate before they all retreated up the stairs towards their respective classes.

With her heart soaring with joy and excitement, Beth let out a high pitched shriek, making Melanie clamp both hands over her ears. "Oh my God! He knows my name! He knows my name Mel!"

With the hallways slowly becoming emptied, it only meant that the warning bell would be going off any minute. Amy had to be let in by a security guard, only meaning she'd be late again. She wouldn't have had this issue had Logan picked up his phone when she needed a ride.

If she had one more tardy for Mrs. Heath's class, then her parents would be expecting a phone call, much too her father's dismay. As far as her mother went, her deepest concerns were that her daughter would be present when cheerleading tryouts took place.

Her mother, Claire, and her sister Heather were all cheerleaders for Atlanta, and they wanted Amy to live up to that tradition. While her father Michael, was an honor student and he had always wanted her and Andrea to be equally exceptive with academics. Tryouts would be in a couple of weeks not too far from the end of the school year; this was a piece of cake for Amy. To the other aspiring cheerleaders, those tryouts would either be the boost or the downward spiral to their social lives in high school.

Upstairs where the office was, Nick aimlessly wandered down the hall shortly after being enrolled and once his schedule was handed out to him. After giving Carol a goodbye hug, he ventured out to find his first period class. Having already wandered down a couple of hallways filled with classrooms, he took a small break to collect himself.

"Shit man." he mumbled to himself in annoyance, scratching his head. Amy finally managed to make the small trek up the stairs, now all she had to do was get to her class and at the least get her foot past the door. But he caught her eye: a good looking boy with sandy brown hair around the same age as her, looking lost and confused as if he didn't blend in with with the rest of the school.

"Hey are you ok?" she didn't recognise her voice, she hadn't even thought of the words. Amy gestured for the schedule and took a quick glance at it, realizing he was in the wrong hall.

"I'd be straight if I knew where to go."

"You will be in a moment. You need to go down this hall." she threw out her best smirk. She barely took the time to spare him another glance as she took off, hair wavering behind her. "And you better hurry up. Mrs. Heath has a thing against kids being late."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Cause I have her class right now and she's waiting for that bell to ring before I'm in my seat. C'mon!" Amy motioned for Nick to follow. And indeed he did, moving quickly to join up alongside her, not that his best interest was his new class. "What's your name new guy?"

"Nick Peletier." he shot her a smirk, folding his scheduale in half. "And you?"

"Amy Palmer. Oh yeah, and welcome to North Atlanta High."

X

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Daryl metally cursed himself for the day of heavy lifting and building he had before him today. He also cursed the damned partial hang over that continously wracked his body with pain and naseua; Merle was to blame for that. His stomach was far too upset for food, so he'd have to settle for some water.

Wrapping the bright yellow vest on top of his flannel shirt, he caught a fair glimpse of Merle lying on the couch shirtless, downing a beer. Merle didn't drink them fast; he savored them. The younger Dixon brother wrinkled his nose at the unpleasant stench which began to fill the livingroom. "Damn bro. Ya stink." Daryl huffed.

"Screw you baby brother. That there is the beautiful smell of some good pussy." Merle snickered, taking another gulp of his beer. "Ain't like you would know ya damn queer."

"Oh trust, I know." Daryl snatched his hard yellow helmet from the counter. "I done had my share of women. All of em better lookin' than yer ugly face. You know I've gotten me some."

A rough laugh left Merle as he cracked open his second beer. "Don't try an lie t'me little brother." he cocked his head to the side as he let the cool libation slide down his throat. "Ya bout as pure as a newborn baby."

For a few moments Daryl debated on blowing off the whole topic of conversation. It was 7:32. He was scheduled to be at work by 8:00. And he couldn't delay much longer. But he did have one serious question in mind. "Ey, when ya posed' to be back at work?"

"Come on now Darylina, I'm hurt member'." Merle pouted and gave his best puppy dog face.

"Horseshit. That right foot was workin' fine on the damn gas pedal. Gotta be fine at work." Daryl ran a free hand through his hair. "Sides' we got bills to pay."

"Quit yer bitchin. We gon' get on that. Soon as we get on some horny females." Merle knocked back the remainder of the beer, before tossing the empty bottle at the trash can, horribly missing it. "Whatcha say? Friday; you, me, Earl, Lefty, and Jessie head on down to CosmoLava."

Daryl couldn't help but shake his head. "I'ma think bout it." he huffed in defeat. The younger man grabbed his gear, snatched up his keys, and pulled open the door. "Don't wait up fer me." and with that he slammed the door shut.

X

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As she neared the classroom, Sophia had long began to look at the pros of beginning a new school past the middle of the year. The new possibilities: new friends, new adventures, new everything. She calmy breathed as Mrs. Shannon politely interrupted the class to allow her in, giving the teacher the pink slip that informed of a new student starting. Not that they weren't informed that a new student would be occupying one of their desks.

"Thank you, Sophia." the teacher, Mrs. Wallace, said warmly.

But before she guided the nervous pupil to her designated seat, she cleared her throat, meaning only one thing. Mrs. Wallace would announce Sophia to the whole class. The poor girl paled once the horror of this revelation was realized.

Carl attentively watched as the new girl shyly peered from beside Mrs. Wallace, clutching both the straps of her pink book bag. She studied her peers as well as they did her, finding it hard to identify any potential friends.

Kenny leaned forward in his seat, whispering to where Carl only heard him. "Ugh! Just what we needed: another girl to funk up our class."

Carl hid his smirk behind his hand.

"Class," Mrs. Wallace announced to the children. "We have a new student joining us today. This is Sophia Peletier. I want you all to make her feel welcome. Sophia, we're glad to have you with us."

"Not!" Duane fake coughed into his fist, earning a few snickers, mainly from the boys.

She remembered to ignore them like her brother said and smiled, appreciating her new teacher's kind words. "Thanks Mrs. Wallace."

The older woman pointed toward the middle of the class. "Carl Grimes, raise your hand." She firmly ordered.

Carl lazily raised his hand.

"You may take your seat beside him." the teacher kindly said, awaiting as Sophia slowly made her way to her seat.

"Hurry up." whispered Robert Marsh, a dark haired boy in the front row rolling his eyes. The class responded to his rude and sarcastic words by giggling in sync, making their newest class mate pick up the pace, throwing her book bag down reckless by her feet.

Mrs. Wallace unbeleiveably failed to notice this as a small form of bullying, since she was too busy getting Sophia seated. She only shot Sophia a sweet smile before returning to her usual roll call. Once Brooke King returned from taking the roll sheet to the front office, the kids began their lesson on the United States to prepare for the test.

Sophia, now more comfortable, settled in and began jotting down notes with the rest of the class.

She had noticed the small group of boys from earlier watching her queitly, mainly the short brown haired one. But once Sophia started to pay attention to the teacher and continue taking notes, her uneasiness about the boy vanished as she became interested in the subject being taught. Until she felt something light hit the side of her face.

She turned to see the culprit and saw Carl smiling at her, sticking his tongue out with his fingers formed in the "L" shaped way. She was about to ignore him when she heard the pssst come out of Duane's mouth. Shielding his smile, he pointed at the crumpled up wad of paper by her feet.

Sophia leaned over to pick it up, only to make out the words written across the crinkled up paper.

_U R Ugly_

The cruel joke may have been hilarious to Carl, Duane, and all the other boys around them, but to poor Sophia it was just absolute torment. She balled the paper up and choked back the tears, covering her mouth to block off the sobs which threatened to escape. The sting of the tears burned her chocolate eyes.

It was only the beginning of the day.

**Author's Note: Yay! The first chapter has finally been completed. And for just the reviews for the trailer and the characters' bios, I'll try to deliver the next chapter even quicker. I'd like to thank Riley Jameson Johnson, LeanneDaseyLover, and kdoggt. You're support is very much appreciated. Read, review, and let me know how it went.**


	4. As Our Worlds Collide

A restless Merle went into the garage and opened the refridgerator revealing two six-packs of beer. Dixon's frown had suddenly turned into a smile; he knew they had been Daryl's beers, but did he care? He grabbed the two packs and walked into the living room setting them on the table in front of him. He unscrewed the top and nearly chugged the cool libation; twenty-four hours was far too long for him to be without alcohol.

By the fourth quater of the game he was watching, he had finished a pack and a half already. The bottles were spread across the table and floor. He had long been done with the game. Now he wanted to have some fun. He stood up walking to the kitchen standing by the phone. He picked it up chuckling to himself and dialed a number.

"Lo'," he heard a voice through the other end. He knew Daryl had to be on his lunch break around this time. He hadn't been home much lately or hanging around their friends. So it became a rarity to see Daryl around much lately, something he found he greatly missed.

"Hey baby brother," Merle mumbled in a high-pitched voice. "I knew you'd be off work! C'mere, old Merley misses ya."

"Merle, what the hell? Why the hell you callin' me in the middle of work? You know Mr. George gonna chew my ass out!" Daryl bombarded his older brother with rants and possibilities that could occur.

Merle chuckled, "Relax lil brother. I'm mighty fine myself. Remember Darylina, I'm dis... dis... disabled! Yeah, that the word I was fishin round' in my head fer!"

Daryl sighed deeply on the other end. "Merle... you drunk?" he asked, trying to count all the times he'd been drunk dialed at work or just out.

"Maybe... maybe not." Merle burped and slapped his knee, cracking himself up. He sipped on some more beer.

"Look, you stay there right'. I'ma come and get ya!" Daryl yelled through the phone.

Merle pulled the phone away from his ear, gulping the rest of his beer down. "No way, man. I'm comin' to get you!" Merle smiled and pointed as if Daryl were right in front of him. "Just let me grab another beer, m'kay." Daryl kept trying to interupt but Merle wouldn't allow him to do so. "And hell naw! I ain't gonna share. See ya soon Darylina!" Merle hung up the phone and ran back to the livingroom.

He grabbed another bottle and walked outside with it, truck keys dangling in hand. He managed to walk straight, but he was mumbling illogical words as he walked to his truck. Throwing the door open and hopping into the vehicle in a drunken stupor, he rammed the keys into the ignition and slammed the door shut, all before throwing the car in reverse and taking off down the deserted road.

Not before he backed into old Charlie Greene's car, leaving a small indention on the left tail light.

At only a few months shy of his forty-third birthday, Merle Dixon was not a liscenced driver. A good slew of people knew that. Daryl, their friends, and most definitely the police department. Even without a liscence, he was banned from certain counties in the state. However, this never stopped him from operating a vehicle; not even the drunken stupor he was caught in.

"GET THE FUCK OUTTA THE WAY YOU DUMB BITCH!" he roared at an Infiniti that nearly clipped the head of his truck, although he was in the wrong. He gulped down another half of a beer as he stumbled into the corner store, nearly knocking an elderly customer over in the process.

Merle's main interest inside the 7-11 that early in the day was another twelve pack and maybe some smokes. In the state of miind he was trapped in, he'd even gotten lost in the candy aisle trying to find what his body desperately called for. By the time he'd finally wandered away from the snickers, reeses, and twix his eyes lit up once he came across every brand of beer beyond the reach of his fingertips. Budweiser. Miller. Genuine draft. Every one of them you'd imagine, or any other alcholic could dream of.

Without hesitation, he tore open the box and was already chugging another beerright in the store. Head leaned back to keep the flow of beer going, he faile to notice the cashier stalking behind him with a broom. "You pay for those, or get out of my store!" he jabbed the broom into the drunken redneck's gut.

Merle chuckled deeply, before tossing a bottle directly at the young Hispanic man. The bottle missed his head by mere inches. "Suck my dick pedro! I can do whatever I wanna do!"

"Not in this store! You pay for those beers or you get out!"

"Fuck you," Merle hissed taking out another, "I'm free, white, and over twenty-one. This here a white's man country. You best go back yours taco vendor." And to add more damage to what he'd already done, Merle violently knocked down a display of sunglasses, shattering a few lens right beneath his feet.

Unleashing a roar of jubilation, he exited the store in a wild manner, leaving a path of destruction behind him.

X

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"Yes!" Amy pumped her fist in victory. She was successful in beating the tardy bell along with Nick; both teens leaped into the classroom a millisecond before the bell chimed through out the class.

Both kids' happiness was worn thin when Mrs. Heath slammed her book on her desk. "Well well. Miss. Palmer. I'm very _enthused_ to see you've actually beat the tardy bell." The teacher sarcastically drew out.

Amy rolled her blue eyes. "Almost as enthused as I am to start the day off in your class." The junior varsity cheerleader made her way to her seat, hiding the laugh which dared to be heard. "After I get out of this class, I swear I need a drink."

"Excuse me young lady."

Amy spun around in her boots, standing on her tip toes. "Oh, I said I'm ready to think. You gotta have your thinking cap on." She playfully tapped on her lush blonde hair, earning multiple snickers and laughs.

Conner Ramirez, another sophomore and fellow teammate on the cheerleading team waved his hand excitedly as Amy approached. "Hey girl." He drawled out as low as he could earning a smile from her as she took her seat. Unlike most boys his own age, Conner didn't take interest in rough activities such as football, basketball, or soccer. In fact, Conner was gay much to his own father's chagrin. Having just come out at the end of freshman year, the only acceptance he found in the school was through cheerleading where he found more supportive friends such as Amy.

Mrs. Heath scoffed in disgust, pushing her glasses up to the rim of her nose.

Her chocolate brown orbs landed on the newest face in her class; fresh meat for sophomore English. "You by the door. What's your name?" she firmly crossed her arms.

Nick coolly leaned on the door, delivering the same amount of sarcasm in his voice. "Nick Peletier. Who wants to know?"

"Your new English teacher, that's who." The much older teacher slowly made her way to the teenage boy, taking patient step by step. "I'm Mrs. Heath. Just so we're clear, I have precious time that I don't like to waste. Especially if it involves new students whose concern should be getting on my good side."

"Oh," the elder Peletier sibling scratched the back of his head. "I didn't know that."

"Well you better learn fast young man."

Who was this woman? Who did she think she was? Nick was just a kid, they all were. Just because she had a degree in teaching didn't give her the right to talk down to students. This was enough to make anyone's blood boil under their skin. Just before he could shoot back in his defense, Nick was surprised at who came to his aid. "Leave him alone Mrs. Heath! He didn't do anything wrong!" Amy shot, earning frightened looks from all her classmates.

Wow. This girl really had his back.

"Another word out of you Miss Palmer and I'll be calling your parents."

"Good. Go right ahead, so you can explain why I only have referrals in your class. My mom is expecting the next call anyway."

Angered that she wasn't intimidating them as she wanted, the more-than-aggravated teacher stomped over to her desk wordlessly. However, the tint of red on her face strongly hinted off that class would feel longer today than any other day. She nearly ripped the pages out of her textbook as she turned to begin the lesson, having long forgotten about her newest student.

Now that his new teacher was put in her place, Nick confidently made his way to his new seat earning a few thumbs up from his new peers. Amy gave him a warm and friendly smile. However, not everybody was as cool and friendly to the new kid. The moment Amy and Nick met in the hallway earlier, it was evident there would be a friendship budding between the two of them even if not now.

Amy was Logan Ross' girlfriend. His girl since the eighth grade. It made him sick to his stomach to even see her lay eyes on another boy, whether her intentions were innocent with them. Once Nick sat in his new seat, Logan finally turned to take his eyes off the boy. He popped his knuckles a good few times.

Melanie leaned forward in her seat, balling a fist up to her mouth. "Jealous!" she "sneezed" into her fist. The snarky remark was earned a few laughs from the kids. Including Nick and Beth.

The football player turned back at her. "Shut up freak!" he spat. His eyes then fell on Beth, who bit down on her lip to keep from laughing out. The more she tried not to smile, the more it ticked off Logan. "What? You finally want to say something? Fucking mute." He turned, snapping his pencil in half. Beth's smile faded as her eyes fell down to her hands folded in her lap.

Remaining inconspicuous and letting his intentions be known to nobody, Logan balled his fist to where they almost lost the circulation in them. He wanted to teach this new guy, Nick, whatever his name was, the golden rule of the school. Never ever ever times ten mess with another guy's girl. Especially with Amy.

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Sophia wasn't the type to fight, or cuss, or start any kind of trouble for herself or other people. But today, it seemed as if Nick's words of advice would be the key solution to her newest problem: Carl Grimes. From the moment she got into her seat up until the last few minutes of the bell, he, Duane, and their group of friends made it a point to bully and harrass her. It seemed out of all the girls in their grade, they now made it a point to pay special attention to the new girl.

She had to escape, get out before they could have the chance to do anything else to her without the teacher looking. As soon as the bell rang throughout the entire building signalling the start of lunch, Sophia bolted out of the classroom to the cafeteria. Immediately, she broke out in a jog.

She figured she'd be able to take refuge amongst the sea of children, but the only thing far more scarier than Carl or Duane was the lunch room. Sophia silently studied each individual table and its cliques which inhabited it like their own reign of territory, unsure of where her place might be in the social circle.

One by one, the children walked down the line retreiving their trays, food, milk, and even a choice of dessert, all in a practiced grace. Relief began to flow through Sophia's core once she collected her lunch now that Carl was long out of sight.

"Punch in your code, sweetie." the cafeteria lady politely instructed, sliding the keypad to the sixth grader. "How do you like your class?" she questioned.

"Um, it's fine." Sophia tried dividing her attention between conversing with the older woman all while typing in her code. Once the numbers cleared, and the machine read accept she scanned the line a couple more times to assure her new tormentors weren't following her. "Everybody here is really nice here."

"Almost everybody huh?" joked the lunch lady looking around now that she caught Sophia's expression. "If anyone gives you any trouble, you come get Mrs. George and I'll teach em' a thing or two about messing with new kids."

For the first time since the torture began, Sophia smiled widely almost coming to laughter. "Thanks." she wavered off to the lunch lady, taking her tray and going through the line.

Almost soon after she left the line and began her hunt for a table with some kids kind enough to offer her a place to sit, the eleven-year-old froze in her place once she locked eyes with the group of rowdy boys she had tried so hard to avoid. Brown paper bags and soda cans; they all had sack lunches and had already beaten her. Sophia's heart fell from her chest cavity to her belly button once the red haired boy, Kenny, whispered into Carl's ear gaining his attention.

"Look Carl, it's your lunch buddy." he joked, setting his Subway sandwhich down.

"Well what about it guys. Should we let her sit with us today?" Carl sarcastically questioned, awating for his equally cruel classmates to respond back to him. Duane looked at Kenny. Kenny looked at E.J., who then looked at Billy. They all sat together in a brief moment of silence.

"Not!" they all shot together. Duane and E.J. shot up the "L" shape with their fingers, snickering under their breath. As for Carl, he only wanted to push it up a notch, hoping to see Sophia actually cry. He reached over and grabbed a handful of tater tots off Jessie Thome's tray and chucked them at Sophia as hard as he could. The scared young girl wordlessly watched as a couple of the greasy bite sized tots fell onto her gladiator sandals, one even made its way tucked into her shirt.

She didn't know what to say. Or what to do. Next thing she knew, her feet were carrying her in the opposite direction of her tormentors out the cafeteria door and into the quad area. Sophia took a light nibble out of her burger; this lunch was even worse than her morning.

X

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For Amy, school could be called easy, hell, even a fun experience. That was because she was at the top of the social chair, often top of the class, one of the most popular girls in the school. Truth be told, it was the only thing that got her through her day. Third period had finally come to an end and free period had just started.

Amy's thought process was disrupted by Conner, who was standing beside her, hip crooked like a lady.

"Girl, the new kid in our first period class is so _fine_."

JoJo snickered beside him, fixing her earring. "Yeah, my preference ain't really white boys, but it looks like I'm about to make an acception."

"Huh?" Amy said vaguely, noticing Nick holding some of his textbooks, looking slightly lost as he turned the combination in his locker. "His name is Nick. I met him this morning."

Conner frowned slightly, glancing at his reflection in his compact mirror. Unnecessarily, he smoothed his dark brown hair before asking, "How'd you meet him?"

"This morning. Just trying to help him navigate through the jungle of North Atlanta High."

The brunette boy sighed dramatically as he placed his compact in his designer sacthel. "Oh yeah, I got them. It wasn't as easy as I thought, but mission accomplished." He shoved a hand into his bag and handed off cards to Amy and JoJo. Hopefully they'd all be as acceptible as this fake id would be. "Saturday night. Two dollar drink specials, here we come."

"Ooh Strawberry daiquiris. Deelish." Amy remarked, gently gliding a finger over the the small number twenty-one imprinted on it.

Unexpectedly, the fair skinned cheerleader felt a strong set of hands around her waist, pulling her into a strong grasp she wasn't looking to pull away from. Amy giggled at the soft trail of kisses running down the back of her neck, ending with a nibble on her ear. "Hey gorgeous." a deep voice traveled into her ear, sending chills down her spine.

"Hey babe." Amy responded wrapping her arms around Logan's neck, pulling him in for a warm kiss.

"Get a room ya'll," JoJo trekked away with Conner; both teens were linked arm in arm. Pulling his girlfriend back into an embrace, Logan snuck a silent glare towards Conner's way with an almost taunting demeanor spread on his face. He made it real clear he was disgusted with Conner for being gay and unbeknownst to Amy and JoJo, Logan and some of his teamates ruthlessly tormented the Hispanic boy for his sexual orientation.

"Just because you're not getting any." Logan snickered, kissing Amy's hair. "And speaking of getting some," his gaze lingered below her chest.

"Logan," Amy pushed away at his enormous chest. "Not here. There's a reason they call it a private life."

"I can't help it. You're so beautiful."

A few lockers down, Nick shook his head in disdain after examining the couple for a period of time. Logan? Really? This made him wonder. Why was Amy with Logan? Sure they were heading North Atlanta High's A-List but... why him? Logan was far from mature while she seemed to be the opposite. Plus the guy was a tool and a hothead with a bad temper. The relationship wasn't even legit; Amy was just acting as his doormat.

The first class had ruined his morning. Nick had already made a new enemy out of his algebra teacher; and to further that list, it was evident Logan Ross had skyrocketed to the top of his list. All through out class he and his friends were snickering at him, throwing poorly rolled up paper balls at the back of his head. How could someone possibly fail at rolling paper balls?

Logan realised he was being watched. "Call me later tonight," he kissed the top of Amy's head, allowing his girlfriend to part ways with him. He had been itching for a fight the minute Nick Peletier walked through the classroom with Amy by his side.

Almost as if they all sniffed out trouble a mile away, Jimmy, Blake, and Kyndall all banned together like a pack on the hunt for their prey, ready to come to their teamate's aid. Logan motioned for them to stay in their place so he could handle this himself.

"There a problem new guy?" Logan questioned slightly annoyed. He wanted to see intimidation in this kid's eyes, but all he could see was the same bold look few kids possessed. He hated it.

"Yeah. Your attitude, your spiky hair, your tan, your poorly rolled up paper balls, you." Nick named each off on a finger. He casually placed another textbook into his locker.

"Seen you talking to my girl. Word of advice; you best find your place in this school and keep it; or things can become real unpleasant around here." Logan suddenly demanded.

"I'm starting to get unpleasant," Nick muttered angrily. "I'm not about that. All she did was show me to my classes. She's your girlfriend; I get that. You're just being stupid man." he placed his algebra book into his locker. It was just typical for Logan to overract and be possessive, treating Amy like she was his property. Nick was unable to help but entertain himself with the possibility that Amy would actually have an interest in him. He smiled at the thought even if it was totally insane.

"What are you so happy about?" Logan snapped.

"Do I need a permit to be in a good mood?" Nick shot back.

"In my school, yeah. I run things around here. What Logan Ross says, Logan Ross gets." Logan scoffed, evily eying his new enemy.

"All you run is your mouth."

"What you gonna do about it?"

_"Oh shit man, forget it. He's not worth it. All he wanna do is act hard so he can show he got something to prove. Just walk away." _Nick thought to himself, hard enough it changed his plan. He'd always told Sophia how to deal with somebody like Logan; now it was his turn to practice the very words he preached. "Nothin. Just gonna walk away and leave you in my dust. Kick rocks motherfucker." Nick spat, slamming his locker and exiting the scene.

Many of the kids gathered around the two boys began to slowly clear out since the fight died down. Even some of the kids down the hall peering from behind the corner began to exit the scene as well. But no, Logan couldn't let it go. He wanted a reason to introduce his fist to Peletier's face. "Hey Peletier. Why don't you tell everyone why you got kicked out of charter!"

Nick's eyes widened and he turned back at Logan, glaring at him widely. He took a few steps. "What'd you just say? Huh?"

"You heard me."

"Logan!" Amy's scream came out from the distance. A couple of her teamates came and got her to inform her about Logan hassling someone. This was just apart of who he was, and it had already been aggitating her. She could only hope he got better, but there was no sign of improvement. "Logan! Levae him alone! We were just talking!"

"What the fuck did you just say?" Nick grew more furious, tossing his bookback by his feet. He had already reached his boiling point and literally jumped onto Logan forcing him to the ground. Loud voices started in the hallways, people yelling; some cheering the fight on while others were yelling for someone to stop it, "What just happened? Get him new guy! Logan, you can do it!" Punches were thrown, kicks were kicked.

The brawling boys slammed into walls and lockers, nearly taking out a few nearby students who were unfortanute enough to have stood by too close. Beth felt her body get yanked away just as Logan nearly backed up into her; had Jimmy not pulled back in time, she'd have been doomed. "Get behind me!" he shouted, protectively shielding her away.

Teachers heard the commotion outside their classrooms, the students chanting and the fight having reached unbelievable levels of volume. The football coach, Coach Gregory, was the first to step out of his class. "What could these goddamn kids be yelling about?" he grunted and grabbed his whistle walking out of his class. He found a group of students all ages huddled around in a large circle yelling things. He blew his whistle loudly and everyone stopped but for a few hushed grunts. "What the hell is going on here!" he shouted and motioned for everyone to get out of the way.

He found his quaterback on the floor with a kid he didn't even know. "Get the hell up you two!" Both Logan and Nick broke apart, both boys breathing heavily backed away from one another into the lockers.

Amy shoved past multiple bodies to reach Nick as quickly as she could. Her small hands instantly went to his face, carefully examining his horrible bloody nose. "Oh my God. Logan!" she turned to her boyfriend, glaring at him evily. "What is wrong with you?" she shoved at Logan's enormous chest.

Coach Gregory watched Logan closely as he raised his voice, speaking to the rest of the students. "I want everybody to get back to their designated area– shows over." He grabbed both Logan and Nick by the arm and forced them down the hall to the office.

Amy stomped away fuming with anger. She could already feel the heat rush to her face from the embarassment of being caught in the middle of yet another one of Logan's fights.

X

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In the upcoming summer of 2010, pizza deliveries were upping their sales about as much as ice cream and bikinis were.

Glenn was deep in debt. So deep, he wasn't too sure if he could ever see the surface of a fairly descent credit score ever again.

Even a year after he had graduated from high school, luck still wasn't on his side. He had had this job since the beginning of August and he still didn't have all the money he needed to pay off the oldest bills. The main priority was to get situated with a good living condition, but he found the task difficult since couch surfing was the best solution. It was turning into a problem, mainly for his friends.

As for now, that issue would have to wait. They were booked with numbers and numbers of deliveries, it was so overwhelming. Too overwhelming, people who'd taken the day to be off we're called in to lend a hand.

Driving off into the vacant back roads of Atlanta should not have been in the job description, especially for someone who didn't even own a car. It was bad enough his shitty little scooter could barely commute him to and from work from day to day. Why did people who lived out in the middle of nowhere order pizza from their business of all places?

Muttering a few choice words to himself, he kicked down the kickstand after manuevering the scooter up the gravelly driveway up to the large, if somewhat messy front porch of the house. Various car parts, beer bottles, and even a pair a pink panties lying by the door mat led Glenn to confirm that he knew what type of people lived in this residency.

"Oh God." he groaned to himself, stepping over the lace lingerie.

A few moments later, he was knocking on the door before him because the doorbell didn't work the three times he tried it. Muffled voices signalled that the house was not empty tonight, before the door swung open.

Standing before Glenn, was a man eyeing him with such intensity wearing a sleeveless plaid shirt and an unfriendly demeanor. He looked like he had been chopping down trees and wrestling with pigs earlier.

"Th' fuck you want?" Daryl rudely asked, voice coated heavily with his Southern accent. Glenn was speechless; just when he thought someone couldn't get any trashier or more redneck.

"Oh. Uh. Your pizza- that would be ten twenty." Poor Glenn replied at last, sliding the pizza out of its warmer and holding it up.

The redneck stared at him for a few more minutes before entering the house again, coming back with the exact amount and taking the pizza.

"Wait- no tip? I drove all the way out on a scooter-"

"We don't tip ying yangs round' here."

And then the door was slammed in his face.

X

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The best time of the day had finally come; the end. Right before the minute hand could land on the twelve on the very top of the clock, Sophia raced out of class as quick as her frail legs could carry her to that bus. And just like the cafeteria lady she'd met earlier at lunch, the bus driver, Mrs. Dokes, was just as kind and sincere.

With her homework assignment tucked away in her pink bookbag and her hair free of any spitballs, Sophia was thankful to call it a day from school.

Now, the real worries would come once she stepped foot onto her own front porch and turned the key to her house, allowing her into her greatest fear of all. Her own father. When she had been a little girl, she didn't recall Ed being the way he was now. He was a competely different man, even after she'd been born. Sophia never learned why he changed, but she didn't want to ponder those thoughts. All that mattered was that she was able to go home to her mother and her brother.

She pushed open the door slowly, expecting to hear the usual yelling or cussing., "Ed, stop it! What the hell is wrong with you woman! Can't none of ya'll do nothing right round' here! I'm sorry!" Sophia placed her backpack upright, racing to the pantry to retreive an after-school snack. The poptarts were stale, but she had been craving the sugary pastries ever since her disastrous lunch. She helped herself to seconds and finally thirds until her stomach couldn't take anymore.

She broke apart from her small snack once she heard faint voices coming from the living room. "Hello? Mom?" she squeaked.

She went deeper into the livingroom, only to gain a sense of relief knowing it was just Nick, converse kicked off and posed in a relaxed manner in front of the television. "What are you doing home so early?" The clock above the television read 3:20; middle school released at 2:55. With the added number of drop offs from school to home, there was no way Sophia couldn't have been beaten home.

"If you ditched again, mom is going to kill you." Sophia warned him warily.

"Let's just say I'm taking a vacation. A very small vacation." his eyes glanced at hers.

The eleven-year-old plopped down on the couch, smoothing her skirt out. It wasn't until she went to go place her gladiator sandals by the front door, did she finally get a good view of her brother's face. His left cheek was coated with a fierce purple bruise and his eye was somewhat puffy underneath. Sophia hissed, lowering herself to his level, considering he was on the couch. "Gosh. How does the other guy look?"

"Not any better than me." Nick smiled with such confidence.

"Who started it?"

"He asked for a beating, he got a good one."

Sophia innocently shrugged, "Did you fuck him up?"

Nick scrunched his face up before unleashing a massive laugh. He carried on so hard his ribs began to ache and the corner of his eyes teared up. "You better believe I did. The kid needs stitches. And to make things oh so amazing, I get to spend the next few days with dad around the house; I'm suspended." he frowned, earning the same reaction from Sophia.

"Bummer. So that's how your day went?"

"Yep." Nick's gaze shifted from the tv to his younger sibling. "What about yours?"

She'd been caught off guard. Sophia froze in her place, unsure of how to answer the asked question. She'd been turned into a human target for the first twenty minutes of class, gotten a handful of nasty notes talking about how ugly she was, and been chased out of the cafeteria and into the quad where she had a lonely lunch with the ants and a few wads of gum by her side. Only becasue she was too scared to go back inside and tolerate Carl Grimes.

She almost broke into tears just thinking about it. "Everything was fine." she lied under her breath.

Queitly, she plopped back down on the couch right beside Nick's foot. Both the Peletier siblings didn't say much more to the other. Sophia wordlessly handed out her half eaten poptart out to Nick, who calmy took it from her hand. He thanked her politely before sinking his teeth into the strawberry flavored pastry, wincing from added pain.

_I'd like to start off by thanking Riley James Diamond, LeaneDaisyLover, Deaderthanyou, and Star69 for reiewing. This means so much to me that this story has been taken to a liking. I'm really hoping for more reviews as to see what ya'll think about it or maybe a message to see what ya'll would like to see happen in future chapters. Open up your minds everyone!_

_-Beachbunnyluvsu_


	5. C'Mon People What The Hell

Andrea stood in her walk in closet, gaze falling from side to side as she decided on which dress and high heels was suitable for tonight's event. She, Chastity, and, Erika were all going out that night to hit the hottest club in town.

Atlanta was a huge city, the size quite similar to Florida. It was a lively and well spaced out city that housed its fair share of restaurants, parks, million dollar homes, and a size-able mall. Nobody here really complained.

Shortly after completing college and spending a few extra years saving up money, the elder Palmer sister felt it was in her best interest to move away from Atlanta and experience life elsewhere; besides the same city she was born and raised in. The only thing that brought Andrea back home was her parents and Amy, her younger sister of fifteen years.

Slipping on her sparkling black heels, she checked herself over in the mirror a final time. The attorney was out the door in moments after applying last minute lip gloss and mascara. Chastity blew her horn a second time louder than ever. "Come on girl! Hurry up before we miss all the good parks!" she screamed.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Andrea answered back, power walking as quick as her feet could carry her in high heels.

She heard the phone ringing on in her purse. Andrea let out a deep sigh before clicking the green button. "Hello?" she said rather rudely.

"_Andrea sweetheart, it's dad. How are you? Where are you? What are you doing?"_

"Oh dad? Hey. You've caught me at a bad time. We're going out…for Mexican." Andrea's gaze shifted between her friends. Even well over the age of twenty-one, her dad still freaked out about her going out.

"_Mexic- Oh you had me there for a moment. I figured you'd return my call. And your sister's." _

"Wait wait. Amy called?"

"_Yes, your home and cell. Look, I have this meeting I've been dreading for weeks and your mother, you know her, has been busy too. We're up to our throats and all she talks about is cheer and I'm telling you its driv-"_

"Dad stop, you're rambling again. Did you take your adderal?" Erkia snickered.

"_Look, don't worry about me! We've been trying to reach you for awhile. Amy's pretty upset she missed her test and-" _

"Test? Oh my God. The driver's test, it was today?" Andrea did a quick check on her cellular device, indeed confirming the date she thought she'd remember. "Oh my God, dad. Is she still there?"

"_Yes. Why?"_

"Oh shit. I've got to go! We're coming alright! Bye dad!" Andrea clicked the red button on the touch screen, tossing her cell back into her small wallet. She did something she did on rare occasions; she panicked.

Today was Saturday, another day and another promise she'd broken to her sister once again. Like most fifteen years olds her age, Amy was ecstatic to finally get her driver's license. With her sixteenth birthday a couple of months away, she was now one of the few unlicensed drivers. All because of Andrea.

The route had changed immediately and the women were on their way up to Andrea's old house where her parents and sister lived. She nervously chewed her nails as they pulled into the driveway, slamming the door and racing towards the front door.

Andrea remembered the day her mother and father brought home the new baby from the hospital. Back then, she was just fifteen and it was all about loud music, dark clothes, makeup, and yelling at her parents. She didn't have time to be a big sister then. But somehow, she had to find the time now.

The moment the door opened up, she shoved her way in, looking and calling for Amy, failing to notice who she'd been looking for was right there the whole time.

"Woah, take a Ritalin and chill out. You're almost annoying." Amy slammed the door, taking another forkful of ramen into her mouth.

"Amy… I am so-"

"Sorry," Amy cocked her head in a sarcastic manner. A small smile spread across her face. "Like you were last time. And the time before that; not to mention the twenty other times before that too."

"I know that, ok. Give me a break Amy." Andrea shifted her weight uncomfortably.

Amy's eyebrows were crinkled, and there was confusion all over her face. "Give you a break? That is crap; if anyone should be catching a break, it should be me. You know, at this point Andrea I think you've already had a few too many breaks considering you never give any of us here a time of day. By the way, how's Jeremy doing? And Erika and Chastity."

The elder sister scoffed, crossing her arms. "Don't change the subject. This isn't about me-"

"Yes it is!"

"No it's not!"

"Girls!" a booming voice exclaimed through out the house, ending the horrible yelling amongst both sisters. Michael Palmer rubbed a hand over his forehead, mentally cursing at his daughters.

Trailing behind was his wife Claire. "Claire, take Amy up to her room. I need to have a word with Andrea." Michael calmly instructed.

"Come on, sweetheart." Claire pulled her younger child away with her, both girls continued glaring daggers in the other's direction. Amy yanked out of her mother's grip defiantly, pausing on the third step.

"Thanks Andrea, you rock. Enjoy your _Mexican_." She spat angrily. She was boiling to the point where she pretty much shoved past her mother and jogged up the stairs.

X

X

X

Rick wasn't certain whose idea it was to head on into the city to a nightclub that he himself had never heard about until now, but he was pretty sure it was Shane's idea. Shane was always the type to rush into things, and going to a club on a Saturday night was something Rick's best friend would most likely suggest.

There were five of them piled up into Shane's Jeep Liberty, it wasn't a bad fit. Nor was the company a bit tense; if anything, they sometimes felt a bit mismatched in Rick's eyes.

Morgan was taking a nap in the back, his feet propped up on a tiny seat and his arm wrapped over to cushion his head. Leon thought this was hilarious. He kept reaching back to set things he had found scattered on the truck's floor to place on Morgan's chest and it was starting to pile up into a rather impressive mountain of garbage. Rick guessed the objection of the game was to pile as much on there as possible before the snoozing man awoke.

Typical Leon, never took anything serious, only thought of it as a game. As for Morgan, he'd much rather spend a hopefully peaceful night at home with his wife and two boys. He was more of an introvert than the remaining of them.

Rick and Shane called the front, which left Morgan, Leon, and Lam to the backseats; the usual seating arrangements. Rick didn't mind, but he now had to focus on not going to sleep and falling victim to Leon's game of homemade Jenga.

They had just started passing signs for their exit and Shane had just started smirking the way he did when he had a plan. Shane's plans were never good news. Usually they meant trouble and were often on the borderline of illegal or dangerous.

The entrance to the club was packed with numerous people, younger and older, awaiting in line to get in. The parking lot to the club was huge and crowded, but it was a fairly descent sized place with a good reputation, so Rick didn't expect any different.

Shane slid the car smoothly into a parking stall. "Alright gentlemen, let's do it." The dark-haired cop exited the vehicle along with his passengers, confidently taking the lead.

Morgan's head shot up once he heard the noise, making the mountain of paper fall off his chest and roll back onto the floor of the car. "Jenga." Rick joked.

Like the good man he was, he waited until Morgan collected himself, then together the two walked alongside one another. Up ahead, Shane unleashed a roar of jubilation turning a few heads. The man hadn't even had his first alcoholic beverage and he was already acting like a fool.

"Is it my turn to be the designated driver?" Morgan questioned, turning the vibration to his cell phone on.

"Yep. I did it twice in a row. And had to carry him out by his ankles."

Morgan breathed a deep sigh of defeat, mixing into the sea of people as he lost Rick in the crowd. The cop lost all concentration once his gaze fell upon his phone, lit up as it read new voicemail.

_One new voicemail from Lori._

"_Should I even listen to this? It's just going to be the same thing; her popping off about what I can't do right." _Rick thought to himself. However, he felt the flow of oxygen rush out of his lungs. He had collided with another gentleman, this one far more built than he'd ever been.

"Man, watch where you goin!" the tall, balding African-American man hissed in pain.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the sheriff's deputy dusted himself off. "Guess I need to watch where I'm going."

"Yeah, you right." Both men turned their attention once they heard commotion coming from a small group of men; they directed their attention to the man standing beside Rick, yelling out what he believed to be a nickname amongst friends.

"T-Dog? Sounds like a name from some kind of rap group." Rick joked lightly. He was very much surprised to see a small smile form out of the corner of the man's mouth.

"Naw, not even close. See, I had always hated my real name ever since I was little, so we went ahead and changed it to something better than just Theodore."

Rick raised a questioning eyebrow as a response.

"My g-ma. She the one got it goin' in the first place." The man nodded smoothly.

"Well, I'll tell you what. She is a very creative woman." Rick smiled politely, allowing his feet to carry him away toward the building's entrance. "Catch you later."

"Yeah man." T-Dog waved off, heading into the parking lot. Little did both men know, this was only their first encounter and it wouldn't be the last one.

X

X

X

Daryl didn't usually go to CosmoLava after work- he wasn't really much for hanging with Merle and the boys from the crew, but he took up the offer to go out after he'd walked in on his brother on top of some chick when he'd gotten home. Even after Merle caused him a headache, he still went ahead and invited himself anyway.

As each incident involving Merle began to stack on top of the other, Daryl began to question how much longer he could tolerate his brother's antics at this point on.

He ended up at CosmoLava out of a lack of anything better to do, a little cash in his pocket, and the to desire drink beer that he at the least didn't have to pay for this time. 'Sides, this night was a special occasion for co-worker Cooper; he'd just asked his girl to marry him, and Daryl figured buying the lucky man a drink might catch him some breaks at work. It was worth a try.

He didn't even notice the little blonde girl seated further down the bar by herself until Merle opened his big mouth and pointed her out. He'd just hung with the guys and was not really talking. He didn't know what the hell to say anyway.

Then they started talking- nice tits, cute gal, who would have her first- the usual. Earl dared Lefty to go buy her a beer, but Cooper- whipped and engaged- threatened to tell their girlfriends. Merle volunteered himself to be the one, but he and Lefty began arguing over the position.

"Hey Darylina," Merle exclaimed as he moved closer to the center of the group, clapping Daryl on the shoulder and making the younger man jump. "You're single aint'cha? I mean I ain't seen ya with a new set of tits lately." The guys all turned to look at him, and Daryl shifted his weight uncontrollably. This is why he hated hanging with these guys; he hated being the center of their attention.

Daryl shrugged stiffly, jerking away as Merle continued to tease and touch him. "Nah," he muttered ducking his head in embarrassment. He hoped they'd lose interest.

But they didn't. "Well hell boy!" boomed Merle, the oldest of the men, " What'cha waitin' on? Go on over there and buy the bitch a beer. Maybe even prove ya dick still works!"

Just as their laughter finally died down the group turned away from Daryl and had already moved onto a new subject. But still, Daryl felt his blood begin to boil.

Maybe it was Merle, the beer, or the guys' teasing that got to him, but dammit whatever the hell it was, it gave him the motivation to get up from his place by the group and over towards the bar where the pretty little blonde girl sat. His pace only quickend because the bartender had handed her a drink, meaning he'd only have seconds to open his mouth and pray she go nowhere and take that first sip right by the bar.

"Uh,"

The girl looked up at him. Her eyes were blue, very stunning yet with a gentle tone to them.

Daryl fumbled for something to say to her so that he wouldn't look like an idiot, brushing off the whispers of interest from the group he'd just left.

Shit, this girl didn't look to be any older than twenty. Maybe it was something about her eyes, how soft and gentle they were. Even when she'd been glaring at her phone it looked nothing like he'd seen on a mad woman before. Most of them had death glares so venomous those eyes would prove to be fatal, putting a man six feet under. But this girl... she was just too inviting.

Her eyes were covered with a light coat of eye shadow. She had on a short black dress, tall red heels, and a charm bracelet. She also had her long blonde in loose curls, making her look far more mature.

And dammit he still hadn't said anything.

"Uh... y-ya want something stronger?" he asked gesturing with his free hand while the other had a firm grip on his beer bottle.

The girl turned her head back to whatever he was pointing at, before setting her gaze back on him. Her eyebrows were crinkled and there was a small, confused smile on her face. "I'm sorry?"

Daryl's next empty response sat in the back of his throat, only after he heard the whispered giggles and hushes from the men behind him. He was making a complete fool of himself and Merle and the guys were getting a thrill from seeing him fail at picking up a girl.

He then shifted his weight to ease how uneasy he felt. "Cause if ya did, y'know, want it I could... y'know buy it for ya." Goddamn he sounded like an idiot.

The girl looked back at him a wariness set on her face. Daryl took a half step back, about ready to just end it all. In the long run, his humiliation would be even more embarassing in front of this girl more so than Merle.

He went ahead and turned around, expecting her to make a mockery of him with some of the women she sat around. Instead, her soft and gentle voice filled his ears over the music. "Wait, don't go."

Daryl turned, shocked.

"Sure," she placed a hand on the vacant seat next to her. "Have a drink with me first. Then maybe we can dance? I'm Amy by the way."

Daryl's answering smile was small, but eager. "Daryl."

Farther down the bar, Merle looked on with pure envy in his eyes. From the looks of it Daryl had turned out to be the victor in the end. Lefty took a long gulp from his beer, placing it on top of the bar. "Well I'll be damned. Lil Darylina might be gettin' laid after all."

Merle huffed in defeat, throwing a vicious glare at the younger man. Just before Lefty's newly opened beer could be gulped down, the elder Dixon snatched the bottle away like taking candy from a baby. "Don't give a shit. Queer can have the bitch if he wanna' fuck her."

The hulking redneck angrily stomped away nearly colliding with a trio of women. Luckily Andrea had always been cordinated ever since high school even in the highest heels she had packed in her closet. "Look out jerk!" she yelled out to the bald gentleman even as he continued to walk away. Her thoughts flew out the window as soon as she reached the bar. Andrea held out three fingers to nonverbally let the bartender know how many beverages she would need. "Pornstars."

"I think you should go home. Go see your parents and Amy. Andy you need to patch things up with your sister." Erika turned her sights over to her closest friend of many years.

Andrea wordlessly shouldered her hand bag as her green orbs wandered along the bar. "You think I didn't try that. She said she didn't want to see me anymore Erika."

"To hell with what she said. She's fifteen years old, you can't allow her to tell you what to do."

Chastity politely joined in on the conversation shortly after she was handed her drink. "I agree. But in Amy's defense you haven't always been the big sister of the year. Broken promise after broken promise you really owe her more than enough. You are a wealthy and powerful attorney with connections but remember; family always comes first."

Andrea knocked back her drink allowing it to rush down her throat. "And with her birthday in two and a half months I really need to step it up." After rehearsing Erika and Chastity's words of advice over and over again a smile formed in the corner of Andrea's mouth as an idea played in her mind. She _was_ a wealthy and powerful attorney _with_ connections; and Amy's sixteenth birthday was coming up soon. In the time they lived in, the day any adolescent converted to the age of sixteen would be the most memorable day in their teenage years. The sweet sixteen as they called it.

"What," Chastity questioned eyeing Andrea's smirk. "You're thinking something aren't you. Tell us."

"No way," the blonde nodded. "It's for me to know and you to find out."

The three of them fell into a light fit of laughter. Just as they ordered a new round of drinks a dark-haired gentleman approached them with a good hint of confidence in his stride. He slicked back his thick hair right before he leaned on the bar fixing his sights on the women, mainly the beautiful blonde. "How you ladies doin?" Shane questioned with a thick, sexy voice.

Chastity immediately disregarded the flirtation; she'd been approached by men like this one with the sole intent of only getting into a woman's pants. She gave him a small smile before returning to her drink. Erika was pulled into the temptation only because she was a maneater to the highest degree; she wasn't pulled out of the lust until Chastity slapped her knee.

As for Andrea, she could not resist the temptation that was there. "Fine. You?"

"I'm good. But fine, that you are darlin'. Got a man thinking some crazy thoughts up in here."

Shane and Andrea exchanged devilish smirks at one another as the music continued to blare throught out the club.

Not too far away from Shane and Andrea brewing up a conversation, not like either of the two were paying any mind to whatever was being said, Amy managed to drag Daryl along with her towards the dance floor. Now that he had a few more drinks in him, he loosened up much easier dancing behind the petite blonde as she grinded her body against his. All his insecurities were long gone making it easier to move to the beat. As for Amy, the only alcoholic beverage she'd consumed that night was the strawberry daquiri the older gentleman had bought her. She'd never really fallen into the phase of teenage rebellion and hardly drank or did drugs - to most, she was the ultimate role model.

As the night continued to fall into place, a scream erupted from the champagne room, a private room where men with extra loads of cash could blow it on private dances offered by the club's highest nominated dancers. Rick came racing out as fast as his feet could carry him, earning multiple stares from random people. A couple of buttons on his shirt had been undone and he had red lipstick pressed on his left cheek. The look on his face was a look of pure terror. "Oh shi-" he breathed as he spotted his "gift" for the night rush out after him. He immediately ducked under a nearby table.

"Wait, don't go running boo. I'll allow you a refund of your money." the dancer yelled over the music. Judging by the deepness in her voice and that her hand was placed on a very private area, it became obvious why Rick had taken off. Shane didn't just come here just to blow some money on a few drinks and meet women; ealier when they'd arrived, Shane pulled a security guard over to the side and ask that Rick get a special dance from a very special dancer. He'd set his partner up for another one of his pranks.

"Fuck. I swear once I get ahold of Shane, his problems will become _much_ worse than my own." Rick growled while crawling over numerous feet. Checking to see if the coast was clear, the sheriff's deputy was very much surprised to meet the eyes of a man he'd met before. "Hey there."

"Uh... What's goin' on my brother?" a confused T-Dog asked. "Hey, you on my toe man." he groaned with pain in his voice.

"Sorry," Rick mumbled under his breath. He quickly held his breath when the dancer walked by the table calling out for him. T-Dog along with his four friends concealed their laughter while the male stripper searched along the tables. Rick looked up at T-Dog, "Is it safe?"

"You might want to stay put man. _She_ looks pretty determined to find you," he replied.

"Can you not let that happen?"

"Sure. Hey ya'll do me a favor and look after lil Ricky here. I gotta take a piss." T-Dog exited the table, scooting his body out of the booth before rushing to the restrooms located near the back entrance of the club.

After taking the four minutes to relieve himself, T-Dog took his oppurtunity while he was in the restroom to make a quick phone call. After dialing in the numbers he pressed the phone to the ear. _"This is Caitlin Andrews. Please leave a message after the beep."_

The African-American sighed with defeat clicking the hang up button. She knew he had plans to see their daughter this weekend, but whenever he tried to get in contact with her, she never picked up the phone. And when T-Dog finally did see Caitlin, she would always jump down his throat whenever she felt he supposedly disrespected her. It was all the typical cycle of baby mama drama. He tried to rethink the words he wanted to say wisely in his message when a deep voice filled his ears. "Hey Toby, bout' you run and fetch a man a beer?" Merle chuckled.

T-Dog pulled his phone down from his ear. "What? What the fuck'd you just say to me?"

"Well excuse me boy," Merle stepped up to the well-built man. "I said how bout' ya fetch me a beer Toby. Make yourself useful to a white man ya damn darkie."

T-Dog boldly stepped up to this asshole closing any space in between themselves. "How bout you make me, _cracker_." And that was all that needed to be said between both men. Before T-Dog could add on to his string of insults the racist asshole's fist had been thrown right into his nose. He responded by placing the older man into a fierce headlock, then landing some blows to the back of Merle's skull.

The two men ended up wrestling off in the middle of the dance floor, kocking over tables, people, and servers all together. Within minutes, many tables had been cleared out of their path as they continued to fight. The upperhand ended up in Merle's possession after he kneed T-Dog in the stomach, repeatedly kicking the man in his side.

"HEY MAN!" Danny, one of T-Dog's childhood friends screamed amongst the crowd. He and his group of friends raced into the middle of the brawl and hauled the redneck off their friend responding with many blows of their own. Only problem for them was Merle had his back-up as well; in a split second Earl, Lefty, and Cooper joined in to aid their badly outnumbered friend, turning the club into a racial war-zone.

Danny had Merle lying on the floor, foot hovering above his head. "Taste the boot motherfucker..."

"Not yet..." Merle smirked evily from below spitting out some blood.

In an instant, Danny's head snapped hard after a fist connected with his jaw. Witnessing the brawl from afar Daryl wasted no time to leap in to his brother and their friend's defense. Once the African-American fell to his knees, his brutal beating did not end there. With all his might Daryl raised his foot and brought it to the man's chest, making him fall back with a painful groan. The little blonde-haired girl he'd been dancing with earlier tried pulling him away from it, but Daryl absolutely had to defend his brother.

Although Merle had always treated him poorly, he would always be his brother. Like their pa said himself, _"Ya best look after ya kin at all cost."_

"ANDREA! WE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Chastity yelled over the music guiding her friend away farther from the fight. The blonde made the wise decision to follow after her friends towards the safety of the exit door where multiple men and women rushed out in a large number of groups. And in one of those crowds unbeknownst to her, her much younger and underaged sister Amy along with her equally underaged friends Conner and JoJo managed to shove their way out to the safety of outside.

Hiding from a male stripper was the least of his problems. Rick had left the security of his hiding place and was successful in locating his partner and co-workers. Leon approached the fight in an attempt to pull one of the men off another; the result of his hasty decision was him being thrown and flipping over a table. Lam tried to restrain another man in handcuffs, but he resisted heavily. Ever-so-tough Shane had already gotten one man cuffed and was in the process of securing another man. And Morgan not at all involved in police business wasn't doing the best job helping Leon.

"Police! Put your hands in the air!" Rick flashed his badge and gun bringing the fight to an end at last. His boldness led Lam, Leon, and Shane to draw their weapons along with him resulting with T-Dog, Daryl, Merle, and the remaining men without a set of cuffs on their wrist to lay on their stomachs and hold their hands out. Cuts, scrapes, brusies, fractures, and black eyes were the least of problems for these men; the worst was yet to come.

The red and blue police lights glared off in the night's sky. Nine men fighting in the CosmoLava was how the night had concluded. As a result, twelve people who were unfortanutely foolish enough to stand close enough were injured, four of the nine men at the center of the brawl required medical care, thousands of dollars in damage had been done, and poor Leon was now sporting a visible black eye. Everything appeared to be under control... almost everything.

"Let me go!" T-Dog struggled continuosly in his cuffs to break free for another oppurtunity to do bodily harm to the Dixon brothers who stood adjacent from him. "I'ma rip ya'll white trash asses from limb to limb!" The only barrier preventing him from acting on his threat was Shane who kept a firm grip on him.

"Well bring it on nigger! I'll lose my foot in that big ass gap of yers'!" Merle did somewhat of a dance while restrained in his handcuffs, taunting the man knowing good and well he couldn't be touched.

Rick not-so-gently shoved both brothers into the car. "Shut up Dixon." he growled in annoyance, slamming the door allowing his on-duty co-worker to take it from there.

Conner ran a hand through his dark hair mouth agape at the scene unfolding before him. "Oh my God Amy. Isn't that the guy you were just dancing with?" he pointed at the squad car which contained Daryl. Amy refused to respond, only squinting her eyes at the bright lights twirling above the police cruiser. She felt her heart fall from her chest cavatity and instantly plunge into her stomach when the man turned his head in her direction; blue eyes met blue again. They remained intoxicated in one another's orbs until the cruiser came to life and whisked both the men away.

Amy breathed queitly to herself listening to her steady heart beat until she finally felt the need to speak, "Let's go."

Dusting both hands off and very much satisfied with a job well done, Rick casually strolled on over to where Shane stood alongside Lam, Morgan, and Leon who had already had a medic tend to his broken nose. Shane turned his whole body around offering his friend a wide smile. "Hey man. What'd I tell you. The best thing about the city; always got some action." Sadly for Shane, his ear-to-ear smile faded from his face once he felt Rick's hard hand collide with the back of his head. He looked very much skeptical until the same devilish smile reappeared again, the infamous Shane Walsh smile.

"You're lucky you're my partner _and _best friend, otherwise I would've made damn sure you were in that ambulance as well." Rick stated through gritted teeth.

A bold yet feminine voice pierced the air. "Hey there officer. We never got to finish our little talk." Andrea anounced stepping close to the cop, standing with boths hands placed firmly on her hips.

Shane's eyes met with hers, hers burning with the same amount of lust and desire as earlier. "Ummm... Rick, wasn't you supposed to be the uh designated driver tonight?" he questioned not even making eye contact with him.

"Well not really. Why?" Rick responded. Reacting, he held out both hands in which the keys to Shane's Jeep Liberty landed in.

"Take good care of my men and my ride. I'll be back for it tommorow."

**I'd like to thank all who have reviewed and I truly appreciate the lastest person who reviewed both of my stories. But none the less, you're all sweet. It's sad to know that despite the abuse Daryl endures from Merle, he'll always remain loyal to his big brother, even if it means going to jail. It's even weirder to know that the most unlikely of people could encounter someone in the most unusual cirmcumstances such as hiding from a cross-dressing stripper under a table. And I also made it a point to display Andrea and Amy's complicated relationship as sisters due to the age difference. So as you can see, the story has a mixture of comedy and drama, therefore making it a dramedy!**

**Also I hope I didn't offend anyone with the racial slurs used in the story. I'm only trying to bring out Merle's character and I do not want to offend anyone. I'm African-American, and I don't even like using the n-word.**


	6. Attention Fans Attention!

Hello again for it is Beachbunnyluvsu here with an update. I apologize for the delay in all of my stories as I've been extremely busy with school, family, and leisure time. And with my birthday less that a month away, I can finally get some free time once we begin Christmas break. There are some stories I have come close to finishing while there are others I've just began.

Don't you worry, I'm not quitting I just need to keep my grades descent. Thank you for being such adoring fans.

XOXO - Beachbunnyluvsu


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